24 ms·

> Microsoft, the copyright holder, is licensing you to have a copy of that program under terms which do not involve exchange of money. As I recall, this anecdo

> Microsoft, the copyright holder, is licensing you to have a copy of that program under terms which do not involve exchange of money. 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.

bombcar 3y ago
It’s exactly that - the IRS doesn’t want people bypassing taxes via weird gift freebie methods. So if it’s not much and it’s not regular, they don’t really care.
- kazinator 3y ago
  Because the state wants people's wealth to be like a bar of soap; every time it changes hands, a little comes off. During one year, the same dollar might circulate, becoming part of twelve people's income. The state gets a slice from each one, even though it's the same dollar.
ProblemFactory 3y ago
> 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. Belgium has exactly that (use of a car is tax-free) and as a result company cars are wildly popular. Getting rid of this tax loophole has been unpopular, but as a compromise they will only apply it to electric cars in the future.

bombcar 3y ago

It’s exactly that - the IRS doesn’t want people bypassing taxes via weird gift freebie methods. So if it’s not much and it’s not regular, they don’t really care.

kazinator 3y ago
Because the state wants people's wealth to be like a bar of soap; every time it changes hands, a little comes off. During one year, the same dollar might circulate, becoming part of twelve people's income. The state gets a slice from each one, even though it's the same dollar.

ProblemFactory 3y ago

> 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. Belgium has exactly that (use of a car is tax-free) and as a result company cars are wildly popular. Getting rid of this tax loophole has been unpopular, but as a compromise they will only apply it to electric cars in the future.