Why Should Delaware Care?
The city of Wilmington depends on wage taxes from city employers as its largest source of revenue, but it has contended with an increasing number of remote or hybrid employees who look to avoid the tax. Its case against a major employer like Barclays could be a signal to its future strategy.
The city of Wilmington filed three separate lawsuits against one of its largest employers over unpaid wage taxes, a potentially precedent-setting move amid a growing acceptance of hybrid work scenarios.
The lawsuits, filed one day after Christmas, seek a more than $1.66 million judgement against Barclays, the major British bank that has its American credit operation headquarters in Wilmington’s Riverfront, after it allegedly refused to pay income and head taxes.
In its filings, the city said it audited Barclays to determine whether employees paid the city’s 1.25% income tax, and found they had not paid them from 2021 to 2023. Additionally, the city says Barclays failed to pay head taxes from 2021 to 2024.