The GOP Congress is looking at including employer-provided benefits like free transportation, food and gyms as taxable income as a way to pay for tax cuts.

Summary

House Republicans are considering taxing employer-provided benefits like transit passes, free meals, and on-site gyms to help offset the cost of Trump’s proposed $10 trillion tax cuts.

The move could generate $157 billion over 10 years but faces opposition due to its potential impact on worker morale and return-to-office policies.

Experts warn it could lower employee productivity and force companies to reconsider benefits.

While the proposal remains uncertain, lawmakers may be forced to adopt unpopular measures to fund the tax cuts amid a $36 trillion federal deficit.

  • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.worldEnglish
    31·
    2 days ago

    I wonder how many redhat dipshits still think that 10 trillion dollars being given to the already obscenely rich will be “trickling down” to them.

    And this is AFTER they keep lecturing the Democrats on how they “lost the working class”…what do you tell voters who are so stupid as to believe this kind of thing? At what point do you HAVE to blame the voters for being this stupid?

    • MountingSuspicion@reddthat.com
      5·
      1 day ago

      For what it’s worth, most red hats either didn’t have a cushy job with these benefits, or have such a cushy job that they don’t need/use the benefits. A lot of red hats were pissed people could work from home because they don’t have the opportunity to (factory/field service/onsite work), so they feel like this is fine. This will probably disproportionately affect college educated libs. Rich CEOs have their own gyms, poor Rs never got the luxury.

      • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        23 hours ago

        To be honest, most workers would rather have a much different thing than things like free meals/snacks and other kinds of perks. Most of them would rather be treated like adults and be allowed to work from home full or most of the time. But if a company insists on having them come in and gives a perk that takes the sting out of that cost, it’s the least they could do.

        But I guess the edgelords like Musk cannot even have that. Soon to be trillionaire telling others they should “live within their means”.

        Also, the red hats that have jobs that don’t let them work remotely, but want to make the lives of others worse? Fuck them with a rusty chainsaw.

        • MountingSuspicion@reddthat.com
          3·
          12 hours ago

          Yea, I wasn’t agreeing with them or anything, just adding that perspective. I’ve worked places with and without those perks and though IME they boosted morale, it’s definitely not a replacement for things like good pay or WFH options.

          A lot of R policies and voters come from a place of making sure everyone’s life is as hard as possible rather than making things better. They didn’t have free/low cost education options? Neither can you. They had to go hungry? So should kids nowadays. They were beaten by their parents? They should get to as well. They have X difficulty or disability and it was not accommodated? Get rid of the ADA! To them, that’s what equality means. That’s why they scoff at the concept of both equality to access and equality of outcomes. They’re both unfathomable to them. It’s sad really. They think just because not everyone can live the same life, we shouldn’t try to make them as comparable as possible, because from their perspective no one helped them (regardless of if that’s the case or not).

    • Pilferjinx@lemmy.world
      14·
      2 days ago

      I don’t think they’re getting the memo to what’s actually happening. They think they’re still fighting a culture war when it’s always been a class war.