As I recall, this anecdote is part of a larger story:

* This was at a time where it was common to buy software in retail stores, it would come in a fancy cardboard box with a stack of floppy disks (or a CD-ROM), a printed manual, a warranty card you could mail in, and so on.

* Microsoft wanted Windows 95 to have good compatibility so someone went to a software store and brought one copy of everything the store sold.

* Then Microsoft handed these out to Windows 95 testers and told them "You can have this for free if you report any bugs you encounter"

* The employees received (and got to keep) the physical box, installation media, manual etc.

> I would say that if you work for Microsoft and they give you a program free in order to test, then it's not a form of income.

Tax authorities have fairly strict (and complicated) rules about this sort of thing, to stop companies/employees dodging income tax using 'free' gifts.

If I could give my employees a $50k cash bonus and it got taxed at 24% or I could gift them a $50k car "for testing" and it was tax free, everyone would be getting paid in cars.