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Abstract: 

The COVID-1919 pandemic resulted in governmental directives that workplaces remain closed for extended periods. Workers therefore could not do their jobs in their normal locations. Some states and cities nevertheless sought to impose income taxes on people who were working remotely. This article analyzes litigation that resulted, including efforts of states and municipalities to tax out-of-state residents who otherwise would have come to their workplaces, and municipal efforts to tax suburban residents of the same state who worked out of town. It also suggests that these cases have broader implications for the taxation of remote workers now that the emergency has passed but the phenomenon of remote work has become increasingly common.

Keywords: remote work; state taxation; local taxation; tax jurisdiction; minimum contacts; apportionment of nonresident’s income; physical presence

Affiliations:  1: Case Western Reserve University.