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Letting employees keep computers seems pretty rational. It generates goodwill, and if the company demanded the computers back, they'd have nothing to do with mo
by gnicholas 4y ago
Letting employees keep computers seems pretty rational. It generates goodwill, and if the company demanded the computers back, they'd have nothing to do with most of them (except newer ones that could be given to existing employees who happen to have older machines).
They could sell them used, but not for much (especially after paying for prepaid shipping boxes).
- londons_explore 4y agoRemember that it you give the employee the computer, you need to pay payroll taxes on the value of the computer, and the employee needs to pay income taxes on the same. That's why many people reject 'free' gifts from their employer.
- gnicholas 4y agoDue to the way depreciation works, it ends up being a minimal impact. When my wife left a university job after 2 years, they sold her the laptop she'd been using for about $250. It wasn't high end, but this was about 25% of what it cost new, and 35% of what it would have cost my wife to buy a similar computer new at that time. Being taxed on a couple hundred dollars is roughly the cost of a dinner out. It is definitely better to accept a free computer at such a discounted valuation and turn around and sell it. In no event would you come close to losing money — the taxable value of the computer would be far lower than what you could sell it for, and your tax on the taxable value would be just a fraction of that.