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> That's wild. It's untaxed comp...

So tax evasion?

… No. Many jurisdictions, provided that certain rules are followed, allow employers to provide food for employees on premises without it being deemed a benefit in kind (ie taxable).

Some go further. I believe in France employers can still give employees vouchers (in practice run over the debit card system these days) for restaurants, and this is also not deemed a benefit in kind.

A lot of this sort of thing is down to long-standing practice, really. It has long been customary for many employers to feed their staff, so this isn’t considered a benefit in kind.

It's really messed up that the tax code doesn't allow a standard W-2 employee to deduct food, transportation, a portion of housing (required to get the sleep to work), etc. If you were a business that invented a robot that could perform a salaried job, the resources required to run it would all be legitimate business expenses. The disparity really speaks to how far our laws have been corrupted by corporate interests, and then making up for the shortfall by turning the screws on individuals.

Tax avoidance at most.

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