PKF, the accountancy and business advisory firm, is calling on the government to encourage people to look further afield when trying to get a job in the current climate, by introducing tax breaks on season tickets.
John Cassidy, Tax Partner at PKF says: “Giving tax relief at source to workers who buy season tickets for public transport would encourage people to look further afield when trying to get a new job in these difficult times.”
“In the midst of a recession, it is right for the government to do everything possible to help people find a new job – giving tax relief for commuters will mean that they can look for jobs in new locations and even consider lower paid jobs than they previously had.”
Cassidy adds that the proposal could also “potentially be more effective at boosting the economy than the controversial VAT rate cut has been.”
He continues: “It would be relatively straightforward to give tax relief at source on all new monthly or annual season tickets for rail, bus and other environmentally friendly forms of commuter transport, so we can be sure that transport companies would be happy to run such a scheme. It may also tempt some commuters out of their cars and have a beneficial effect on the UK’s CO2 emissions.
“Clearly, I am not expecting the government to write a blank cheque like it has effectively done for the banking industry: any relief would probably have to be limited. For example, a relief on annual travel costs of up to, say, GBP5,000, to match the current benefit exemption for season ticket loans provided by employers would work well."
He concluded: “In this recession, ‘getting on your bike’ is not likely to be enough to help people find new jobs because they will probably have to travel a lot further. Providing a tax break on environmentally friendly travelling to work will encourage people to do just that.”
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