General Discussion

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.