“if the measure is put into effect, a free meal at Google estimated at $8 to $10 for an employee that eats two meals a day at the office could cost the company an extra $4,000 to $5,000 a year in taxes.”
Couldn’t happen to a more deserving bunch of left wing fascists. Eat it, Google. (Pun intended)
will they tax free school lunches doled out to everyone?
rhetorical, don’t answer...
How about children who get free meals at schools. Isn’t this a benefit to the parents who are saved from this expense? Why not tax them.
CC
I look at it like this...if a company provides me with a meal so I don’t have to leave, a phone so they can reach me 24/7 or an apartment so I am on call 24/7 for their convenience..it should not be taxable to me.
The Feds need to butt out.
The monster is now feeding on itself. The industries topheavy with liberalism that conspired to get “it” elected are about to be thrown to the lions.
Some people ate breakfast and lunch, some lunch and dinner and one contractor I knew ate three meals a day there, with frequent raids on the mini kitchen.
On lobster day, lunch probably cost the company $40 per a head. Taco day, maybe 5 bucks.
Another thing, employees got free beer on Fridays. Contractors, no chance.
It will be interesting to see how they figure out what to tax each employee. Being the IRS they'll probably end up screwing everyone.
Companies with large staff like Google find there is an opportunity cost to having thousands of highly valued employees having to leave the premises and forage for food. IRS trolls may not understand that such employees cost over $1 per minute, not to mention how much their work is worth to the bottom line per minute. Even being able to gain 15 minutes of time by providing on-site meals saves more than the cost of the meal.
So, the end result of this policy will be that it is yet one more reason to use lower cost people outside of the US.
And we wonder why there is almost zero job growth.
Many companies have traditionally given their employees a big meal around Christmas time. Our cafeteria always made a roast beef dinner for employees. So, this is going to be taxed? Scrooges.
Will this be discussed by congress, then offered as an amendment to be voted on by the states? Or is this just a random IRS decision to extort more money with the penalty of jail and all assets forfeited? Just curious.
Using that old statement, “biting the hand that feeds you,” i.e., Silicon Valley has repeatedly supported 0Bamma, and the thanks Silicon Valley gets is to be screwed by Uncle Sam. Nice!
May the IRS burn in h@ll.
My employer provides me meals with my paycheck.
I wonder if the gooberment will tax that?
We often have mandatory meetings where food is provided. It is often pizza. I never partake due to gluten and casein intolerance. If the IRS thinks I’m paying tax on food that I can’t eat, they can stick it. There needs to be a line item accounting for those who accepted the food benefit before it turns into a tax liability for the purported recipient. Is the coffee in the break room going to be a taxable benefit too? Watch the break room disappear. The cafeteria already morphed into a self-checkout mini-mart with a laser scanner and credit card swipe.