patrick.net

That's some collective government stupidity there. Romneys of the world can pay less in taxes than an average working American. But company buying someone lunch needs a tax?

These privileged snobs sure know how to waste nations time on non issues and personal grudges. I bought my old folks a lunch a month ago, do they want me to send them a 1099 before the feds kick my door down.

Clowns all of them.

What's next- people who drink the office coffee now have to pay taxes too?

donjumpsuit says

This makes me sick.

Man you must find a lot of hypotheticals to be sick about all the time.

I don't see much in this article indicating IRS investigation, just a bunch of armchair analysts. In the remote even there is followup, then FB and GOOG would hopefully adjust their tax claims on this expense problem solved.

donjumpsuit says

I am finally done supporting the US federal government.

That has a hell of a lot less to do with the US government, and EVERYTHING to do with the Bastards that have been getting elected in the last 10 to 20 years.
Just sniveling whining pathetic little cunt bastards. Who just look for ways to punish everyone else at the expense of pandering to the even more whinny pathetic little Shitstreaks, who elected them.

I know for a fact there are poor people and families.
These people go to the Obamapartytrain tax preparers, who find them 8 to 10K in tax refunds, when they didn't work a day in their life. You see the signs everywhere, get 3,000 to 4,000 per child tax credit, even if you didn't work. What kills me, is from the news all this year, with Obama ramping up the IRS agents, I figured they were going to get called out on it, and end up in deep doodoo, or at least on the hook to pay it back. Nope, sailed right through, they are all driving New(new to them) cars, and moving to new places.
But of course the hard working sonsofbitches out there, who if they are lucky will either owe $20 or have $20 coming, the IRS is crawling up their ass, to find how many free lunches they got.
Unfucking believable.

Not only am I convinced Romney could do a better job than Obama running the country. I am certain, Romney voters were more qualified to make that distinction.

lostand confused says

What's next- people who drink the office coffee now have to pay taxes too?

Having access to potable water, and a working toilet seem like pretty nice office perks as well.

"A company cannot provide tax-free meals if workers commute from home and have the ability to bring their lunches with them."

Workers certainly have the ability to bring drinking water and toiletries from home.

Vicente says

Man you must find a lot of hypotheticals to be sick about all the time.

I don't see much in this article indicating IRS investigation, just a bunch
of armchair analysts. In the remote even there is followup, then FB and GOOG
would hopefully adjust their tax claims on this expense problem solved.

Once the law is on the books, IRS can do whatever it wants. Corporations can earn worldwide income, but are only taxed , if they bring it back. But individuals do not have that same benefit. If an individual lives abroad , he/she still has to pay taxes-subject to dual taxation treaties with each country. We are the only first world nation to have this stupid policy. On top of that we have FATCA-signed by Obama- where foreign entities now have to report American accounts-else have their remittances seized.

Then of course you have NDAA-signed by Bush and Obama-where he can decide he does not like you and hold you for ever with no trial and no charges. But Obama claims he won't use it-why sign it then? Once it is legal, the option is always there. We are slowly becoming like East Germany, with the govt collecting vast amounts of information, amassing huge powers to detain us indefnitely. the IRS is now scanning Facebook posts, credit card info, ebay auctions etc and they have our social and all data to match.

One may not worry about these laws, but once they are on the books , the govt can use it in any way it sees fit-just yell war on terror. Patriot law was intended to capture terrorists-but they used it to catch Elliott Spitzer hiring escorts. The only reason it came out was that he was well known. There were plenty of other men caught in that sting alone and Lord only knows how many other men caught who paid their fines to the govt ??

The govt is hungry for cash and it is hunting for revenue and if things get worse, they will use everything at their disposal to pay themselves. That is why I don't like the hate the rich mentality-once you deal with the 1%, then they will come after the 30% below. It is a mentality and won't stop .

We used to give our daughter money for school lunches, I hope she doesn't owe any back taxes.

Those armchair economists are pretty stupid people who never live outside their little ivory towers.

Wow, I didn't know they could take their meals home. I guess they can have the best of both worlds - never have to cook or go out to eat! Straight up gliterrati.

donjumpsuit says

This is 'lunch'. This isn't a personal chef at a workers home.

Damn near it at google.

"What I find interesting now is that they had a ready-made comeback: they'd "go away to calculate" for a bit, and then say that the meals alone were worth some amount of money. I think they told me 15 to 20 thousand dollars at the time. I've heard other values from other people who were told similar things during their hiring process."

http://rachelbythebay.com/w/2012/01/21/notfree/

Using the same reasoning, I could be taxed on the toilet paper I use at work.

No since all employers, even Walmart I assume, offer free toilet paper.

Google is using their added expenses as actual employee compensation elements.

Bellingham Bill says

Google is using their added expenses as actual employee compensation elements.

as do many others... but its excluded from W-2s since it impossible to allocate to employees.

Simple solution: offer IRS workers free lunch at work. Of course, in fairness to America's brave military personnel, it should be the same lunch soldiers get. I understand those MREs can be surprisingly pricey - enough to lift IRS workers into a higher bracket. Sometimes kindness works better than hostility: IRS workers are smart enough that one look at an MRE price tag will persuade them that on-site lunches provided by an employer should not be taxable.

I'm wondering if people in Congress get lunches provided, and if so is it taxed?

This whole premise is bunk!
The whole point of the office giving their employees a free lunch, is to sequester their time. So that more gets done at the office. If anything, these employees aren't even on the clock when they are eating said lunch. But they are discussing the project and engaging important face time with key people related to the project. That they may not see during the day otherwise, unless a formal meeting is scheduled. Which then creates a room full of people, that are actually on the clock, but not being productive, in the sense that actual tasks are being resolved. But rather thoughts on how to approach those tasks.

So in reality, any Employee getting free lunch at work, are not actually on the clock.

SO!!!!! If you were to allow the give 'em hell tax goon squad, to tax people eating lunch at work. Then the next logical step, is to be taxed on every dinner you eat out, when someone else picks up the check, Sunday dinner over at grandmas. Also those corporations that hand out promotional free food like Chick-Fil-A sandwich day, they should hand out a bloody 1099 along with the sandwich.

FortWayne says

That's some collective government stupidity there. Romneys of the world can pay less in taxes than an average working American. But company buying someone lunch needs a tax?

how many times do you want income to be taxed..

Romney earned income and he got taxed on it. 35-40% when he was earning a salary...

so he after he retires his investments in companies whose earnings are taxed 35%

and he is paid a dividend which is taxed again. 15%

and so is the state.... 10%

so the govt collects 50-60% from taxes on the same dollar of earnings.

CaptainShuddup says

The whole point of the office giving their employees a free lunch, is to sequester their time. So that more gets done at the office.

Google would tell you that as well.. they dont want people to leave the "campus"...
stay as long as possible...

This sounds like a bipartisan budget opportunity: "Paul Ryan joins President Obama at the White House for lunch". I bet one thing they can agree on is they shouldn't have to pay tax on that lunch!

donjumpsuit says

If my business is making money off investments, then that is my 'income' regardless of the accounting tricks used to get it.

contracted income in a form of wages and salary/rent and royalty carry no risk.. its contracted you will get paid. There is no risk! rarely do people lose their rights to income for sales of product or services!

capital gains and loses are different from contracted incomes...
capital investments, be they financial instruments, business ownership, capital equipment or RE, carry no contracted income upon sale, they may be losses. So the risk is much higher, and they do occur more frequently.. so what is the benefit for you to invest ?

Where is your tax on capital losses ? 35% of what ?

Are you in the business of selling your income producing assets in the normal course of business ?

Do you do know the difference now ?