Many continue to commute to work, even though they would like to work from home, to avoid having to pay taxes in both countries, for example.
– I go to Denmark three days a week to be sure that I am there at least 50 percent of the time. But really, I could have worked from home to 100 percent, says Lars Kruckow.
He lives in Skåne, but continues to travel to work in Copenhagen to avoid problems.
According to agreement between Denmark and Sweden are normally taxed in the country where you work, not where you live. But during the pandemic, many Öresund commuters have been forced or encouraged to work from home, which means that they may instead come to tax, at least in part, in their country of residence.
For commuters, this will not mean double taxation, but that they may now need to tax in two different countries.
Administratively complicated and for some, especially for those who commute from Denmark to Sweden, it can mean higher taxes. In various commuter groups on social media, there is an intense debate on the subject and there are more who, like Lars Kruckow, say that they continue to commute to avoid problems.
-I am physically in Denmark at least three days a week, says a commuter who does not want her name published.
Another commuter who also wants to remain anonymous says that he knows several who, like him, continue to go to work.
– I know some, but I think there are several. There are many who are affected by this, he says.
In both Denmark and Sweden, there are calls for homework to reduce the spread of infection, and Lars Kruckow would prefer to be able to work from home as much as possible.
– Of course, but I also have to think about my situation, what it means to me, he says.
Nordic Border Barriers Council which is under the Nordic Council of Ministers last summer asked the Nordic countries to introduce a tax exemption for cross-border commuters during the pandemic, as has been done with regard to social insurance. But so far the governments have not wanted to adapt the rules.
The Ministry of Finance informs Ekot that they do not see any need for an exemption at the moment, but that they want to bring experience from the situation that arose during the corona pandemic when renegotiating the Öresund agreement with Denmark.
Source: ICELAND NEWS