Heard a crazy idea about required office returns being a tax trick!
We were discussing the push to come back to the office, and a coworker mentioned a conspiracy that it's all about tax breaks. It made me think about how much we don't know about upper management decisions!
New York City actually ended their commercial rent tax break for in-person workers back in 2022. Those programs are usually too small to be the main reason for a big return-to-office push. The bigger corporate tax benefits usually come from the city itself wanting payroll taxes, not daily attendance.
Some cities actually give tax credits for companies that keep a certain number of employees working in person. Is that what your coworker was hinting at? I remember hearing about programs in Chicago that tie business tax rates to downtown occupancy. Does your company have offices in a city with rules like that?