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Zorro

(17,700 posts)
Sat Jul 12, 2025, 10:33 AM Jul 12

Trump Tax Law Quietly Takes Aim at Popular Perk: Office Snacks

The SkinnyPop in the break room may not last. Donald Trump is targeting the office snack.

The president’s signature tax law allows a long-standing business deduction for the cost of food provided to employees to expire, imperiling a workplace perk popularized during Silicon Valley’s dot-com boom that is now an emblem of modern office culture. A well-stocked pantry is now a staple at Wall Street banks, among other places.

US companies that continue to provide office snacks, coffee or on-site lunches will see them taxed after Dec. 31, when the deduction will be eliminated.

The tax change gained little attention as the sprawling, nearly 1,000-page legislation moved through Congress and it isn’t yet clear how companies will respond.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-tax-law-quietly-takes-140000965.html

No more free snacks at the office, peons! Now get back to work!

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Ocelot II

(126,102 posts)
1. We never did get free snacks where I worked.
Sat Jul 12, 2025, 10:41 AM
Jul 12

Coffee drinkers contributed to a coffee fund and sometimes someone would bring doughnuts, and some people had bowls of candy on their desks for coworkers to help themselves. I think it was a good thing that there was no stash of free snacks; I'd have eaten too much, and we had mice.

newdeal2

(3,430 posts)
2. At one point they were thinking about taxing employees for these kinds of benefits
Sat Jul 12, 2025, 10:45 AM
Jul 12

Like free gym or food at the office.

This is at least slightly better.

LearnedHand

(4,815 posts)
3. It's unbelievable how far this oozing festering carbuncle is reaching into people's lives
Sat Jul 12, 2025, 10:50 AM
Jul 12

I also can’t believe how hugely the Dems are missing the ready-made messaging about who exactly is the party of BIG BIG BIG government. In addition to all the services and regulations they are incinerating, the TSF/felon government is OFFICIALLY in your:

Pants
Bathroom
Bedroom
Mind/thoughts
Reading list
Mobile phone
And now office snacks

newdeal2

(3,430 posts)
5. Yup. I don't know why we are not good with creating viral messages or videos
Sat Jul 12, 2025, 11:12 AM
Jul 12

The material is all there. You have to start now to build that impression in the populace, not in 2026/28.

unblock

(55,409 posts)
7. This is a trivial deduction for major corporations
Sat Jul 12, 2025, 12:09 PM
Jul 12

I mean, it adds up in absolute dollars for 30,000 employees, but it's still a tiny percentage of their annual net revenue.

But it does matter for small employers. If our 50-person business took away this perk, employees would have to go to the building cafeteria or a local restaurant for lunch. Either way, the employee takes 15-30 minutes longer for their break, which has an impact on overall productivity, never mind that they're further away in case of an emergency.

Some employers might do something like give employees a $10 bonus to come into the office, then charge $10 for food. This lets the employer deduct the expense as it's just a labor expense not tied to food, but then the employee has to pay tax on the park because it's now taxable income.

Personally, I'm ok from a public policy point of view with the deduction going away, because I'm not overly into giving businesses deductions for things they're likely to do anyway, and I think most companies will continue to provide food and coffee, although they might cut back a bit.

But it will have an impact, and it is mostly the smaller businesses and their employees who will pay in the form of lower morale and greater inconvenience.

MichMan

(15,508 posts)
8. Nothing is being prohibited; there will just no longer be a tax break.
Sat Jul 12, 2025, 12:14 PM
Jul 12

If that is the only reason a business is doing it, then shame on them. No different than people only giving to a charity as long as they get a deduction.

If most companies will continue doing it anyway, how is that bad for morale?

unblock

(55,409 posts)
10. Companies will choose
Sat Jul 12, 2025, 12:47 PM
Jul 12

Businesses that eat the cost will have lower profits but preserve employee morale. I expect big profitable companies to go this route.

I expect plenty of smaller companies, especially those with thin margins, will cut back or kill this perk. Employee morale will suffer there.

My company has used subsidized food as an incentive for employees to come into the office instead of working from home. I don't know how we will handle this. My vote will be for the company to eat the extra cost, but I know others on the management team will fight me on this.

I have certainly worked in the past for companies that did not provide free snacks or meals. It's way nicer as an employee when the company provides such things, and as a manager I think it's a very cost-effective way to keep employees on premises and happy. But not all managers think like this.

Hugin

(36,642 posts)
9. Catering these tax-deductible snack and lunch services has also become a non-trivial industry that will go away...
Sat Jul 12, 2025, 12:25 PM
Jul 12

Way to create jobs, GrOPpers!



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