Taxable Benefits
In the wake of the Dobbs decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, various major companies have stepped up to say they’ll pay for their employees to travel to another state to get an abortion, if abortion is outlawed in the state in which they live and work.
In one respect, it can be seen as a nice gesture. But has anyone considered the income tax ramifications of this?
That’s right, income tax. If your employer provides you with a certain benefit, it’s often taxable. For example, if my employer provided me a company car to drive, the value of that benefit is taxed by the federal government. There are ways around it, like the employer saying I’m required to drive the car for work, but that has to be stated in advance. So if a woman receives that benefit…is it taxable?
What if the employee is a man…can he claim the benefit so his wife can get the abortion? What if they’re not married?
Now let’s take it even further. Unless life of the woman is at stake, abortion is an elective procedure…after all, those on the left call it a “choice”. Would the company pay for my elective medical procedure at, say, the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota because the no Iowa hospital offers it?
People far smarter than me will figure that all out. Obviously, certain companies were climbing all over themselves to be the “most woke” in the wake of the ruling, and offered these new benefits without thinking them all through. Just another example of how complicated so many issues are…far more nuanced and complicated than most on either side would care to admit, or care to have you believe.
