4 ms·

Description: Facebook and Instagram owner reportedly dismisses about 24 workers for abusing $25 meal credit system

Joker_vD 2y ago
Is it really an abuse? Oh no, he used meal credits to buy toothpaste and tea instead of food, so... what? It really irks me that this level of pettiness comes from the corporation that itself uses every single tax "optimization" scheme on earth (and also probably invented a couple). Apparently, quod licet Metae non licet famulo. This really is just a small monetary enhancement to one's wage, not a "we ration out your approved caloric intake separately; do not mess with its accounting — or else" system (although it seems Meta really would like to treat it like that).
- xghedrr 2y ago
  “Is it really an abuse? Oh no, he used meal credits to buy toothpaste and tea instead of food” Yes. This is called fraud. Even if you feel mega corp X is bad, defrauding mega corp X is… also bad.
  - Joker_vD 2y ago
    In what way the mega corp X is defrauded here, exactly? The sibling comment explains that arguably the IRS can be considered defrauded in this case, but the mega corp itself?
    - s1artibartfast 2y ago
      How is it not? There was permission to take and use company money for X purposes, employees took and used money for Y purposes. It is no different than using my company expense card to book a family trip to Hawaii.
  - consteval 2y ago
    So then it must be a better outcome if you buy the maximum allowed amount of food, 70 dollars, and then throw it away? Better yet, buy that food, attempt to pawn it off, and then buy toothpaste. To me, that feels like a much worse outcome, not a better one. I think this demonstrates you need some leniency in these things. Because pettiness breeds pettiness.
    - tzs 2y ago
      How about using it each day for the food that you actually eat that day? That's generally the point of meal allowances.
      - consteval 2y ago
        I'm not speaking to the point - I'm speaking to right and wrong. If it's wrong to use it on a tube of toothpaste because that's stealing, then it must surely be right to instead buy the maximum food and throw it away. Therefore, people should do that. If that sounds wrong to you, then the initial assumption might not be correct. Maybe it's not so bad to buy the tube of toothpaste. Constraining yourself to extremely hard and fast rules seems like a good idea on the surface. But it's all about incentives. I can easily make the company bleed much more money while being within their rules. So why even bother? A touch of leniency and common sense goes a long way.
        s1artibartfast 2y ago
        >If it's wrong to use it on a tube of toothpaste because that's stealing, then it must surely be right to instead buy the maximum food and throw it away. That makes no sense, One does not imply the other I have a business card with a limit of $5k for buying work materials. I might get forgiveness if the materials ended up being wasted. That doesn't mean it acceptable to use my business card to go to Disneyland, or that it is "Right" to use it for wasteful purchases. Zero sympathy for thieves
        consteval 2y ago
- mikeocool 2y ago
  > This really is just a small monetary enhancement to one's wage The IRS doesn’t view it that way — if people were just given an extra $70 a day for expenses not related to their job, it would typically to be taxed as compensation. If they allowed this to happen unchecked and lots of people started doing it, the headline would be “Meta facilitates tax avoidance scheme for employees making $400k”
  - treesknees 2y ago
    This is my feeling as well. I've gone through a lot of grief on expense reports at my company for things like not reporting the tax on a hotel room or tip on a meal receipt separately from everything else. It's not as simple as $25, at least from an accounting perspective.
    - JohnFen 2y ago
      The expense report minefield is real. It's why I developed the habit decades ago of not expensing anything unless it's actually expensive. It's too much hassle and risk.
  - shagie 2y ago
    The relevant IRS document is https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15b#en_US_2024_publink1000193706 https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15b#en_US_2024_publink1000... The relevant section is on De Minimis Meals.
- lopkeny12ko 2y ago
  Why does it matter? He violated company policy, which has consequences, regardless of how minor of an infraction you might personally feel it is.

Is it really an abuse? Oh no, he used meal credits to buy toothpaste and tea instead of food, so... what? It really irks me that this level of pettiness comes from the corporation that itself uses every single tax "optimization" scheme on earth (and also probably invented a couple). Apparently, quod licet Metae non licet famulo. This really is just a small monetary enhancement to one's wage, not a "we ration out your approved caloric intake separately; do not mess with its accounting — or else" system (although it seems Meta really would like to treat it like that).

xghedrr 2y ago
“Is it really an abuse? Oh no, he used meal credits to buy toothpaste and tea instead of food” Yes. This is called fraud. Even if you feel mega corp X is bad, defrauding mega corp X is… also bad.
- Joker_vD 2y ago
  In what way the mega corp X is defrauded here, exactly? The sibling comment explains that arguably the IRS can be considered defrauded in this case, but the mega corp itself?
  - s1artibartfast 2y ago
    How is it not? There was permission to take and use company money for X purposes, employees took and used money for Y purposes. It is no different than using my company expense card to book a family trip to Hawaii.
- consteval 2y ago
  So then it must be a better outcome if you buy the maximum allowed amount of food, 70 dollars, and then throw it away? Better yet, buy that food, attempt to pawn it off, and then buy toothpaste. To me, that feels like a much worse outcome, not a better one. I think this demonstrates you need some leniency in these things. Because pettiness breeds pettiness.
  - tzs 2y ago
    How about using it each day for the food that you actually eat that day? That's generally the point of meal allowances.
    - consteval 2y ago
      I'm not speaking to the point - I'm speaking to right and wrong. If it's wrong to use it on a tube of toothpaste because that's stealing, then it must surely be right to instead buy the maximum food and throw it away. Therefore, people should do that. If that sounds wrong to you, then the initial assumption might not be correct. Maybe it's not so bad to buy the tube of toothpaste. Constraining yourself to extremely hard and fast rules seems like a good idea on the surface. But it's all about incentives. I can easily make the company bleed much more money while being within their rules. So why even bother? A touch of leniency and common sense goes a long way.
      - s1artibartfast 2y ago
        >If it's wrong to use it on a tube of toothpaste because that's stealing, then it must surely be right to instead buy the maximum food and throw it away. That makes no sense, One does not imply the other I have a business card with a limit of $5k for buying work materials. I might get forgiveness if the materials ended up being wasted. That doesn't mean it acceptable to use my business card to go to Disneyland, or that it is "Right" to use it for wasteful purchases. Zero sympathy for thieves
        consteval 2y ago
mikeocool 2y ago
> This really is just a small monetary enhancement to one's wage The IRS doesn’t view it that way — if people were just given an extra $70 a day for expenses not related to their job, it would typically to be taxed as compensation. If they allowed this to happen unchecked and lots of people started doing it, the headline would be “Meta facilitates tax avoidance scheme for employees making $400k”
- treesknees 2y ago
  This is my feeling as well. I've gone through a lot of grief on expense reports at my company for things like not reporting the tax on a hotel room or tip on a meal receipt separately from everything else. It's not as simple as $25, at least from an accounting perspective.
  - JohnFen 2y ago
    The expense report minefield is real. It's why I developed the habit decades ago of not expensing anything unless it's actually expensive. It's too much hassle and risk.
- shagie 2y ago
  The relevant IRS document is https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15b#en_US_2024_publink1000193706 https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15b#en_US_2024_publink1000... The relevant section is on De Minimis Meals.
lopkeny12ko 2y ago
Why does it matter? He violated company policy, which has consequences, regardless of how minor of an infraction you might personally feel it is.