Does anyone know if the government tried to get any of the companies to try to partner with local food places? Like grahamburger mentioned in their post?
Bay Area cities are cracking down on free food at tech companies
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Re: Bay Area cities are cracking down on free food at tech companies
#22Talk about fascist capitalism. If I ran these companies I'd make everything cost one cent and have a giant barrel of pennies just sitting around with "take what you need" written in it. It's not free anymore. Problem solved.
That's taxable income then, no?
Yes, the penny-per-meal charge would be a tiny amount of income which, presuming deductible business expenses did not increase to absorb it, would be subject to corporate income tax (which is really a retained profits tax.)
None of the companies involved are even going to notice it.
Re: Bay Area cities are cracking down on free food at tech companies
#23My bet is that it makes no difference.
FB workers are rich, and they'll not want to eat every day in the caf, and they'll be out and about as much as they would otherwise.
The alternative won't be 'restos' it will be 'the microwave'.
Re: Bay Area cities are cracking down on free food at tech companies
#24Much easier for city councils to virtue signal on non issues rather than tackling the sea of needles and shit on their sidewalks.
Re: Bay Area cities are cracking down on free food at tech companies
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nothing in the constitution says that a jurisdiction can’t ban free food.
You can’t tell corporations how to spend their money either, as money is a form of speech. Isn’t that the gist of the Citizens United decision?
You can't tell corporations how to spend their money vis-a-vis political campaigning. It's a much narrower scope than what you're implying.
Re: Bay Area cities are cracking down on free food at tech companies
#26as someone who works in a place a solid few miles from restaurants, and has a break room with a few microwaves/a toaster oven as well as a vending machine with gas station tier food... how common are workplace cafeterias like this? is it just sv megacompanies or is it smaller firms across the country?
Every remotely-tech-related company with more than 10 employees in San Francisco will provide free food. Only the large ones (more than 500 employees?) will have an on-site kitchen in the cafeteria with dedicated chefs and cooks.
Re: Bay Area cities are cracking down on free food at tech companies
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's taxable income then, no?
Yes, the penny-per-meal charge would be a tiny amount of income which, presuming deductible business expenses did not increase to absorb it, would be subject to corporate income tax (which is really a retained profits tax.) None of the companies involved are even going to notice it.
No, it’s the value of the free meals that’s considered taxable income. IIRC there was already a controversy about this a couple years ago. Employees getting the equivalent of what, $20 in free food every day? That adds up to real money.
Re: Bay Area cities are cracking down on free food at tech companies
#28Does anyone know if the government tried to get any of the companies to try to partner with local food places? Like grahamburger mentioned in their post?
Most of the companies which provide free lunches do partner with local food places.
Re: Bay Area cities are cracking down on free food at tech companies
#29"The restriction aims to increase business for local food retailers." Wow. Incredibly corrupt. I'm guessing next lunch boxes are going to be banned?
The stupid thing is that most of the tech companies, outside of the giant ones, get their food from local retailers.
Yeah, the proposed legislation mentioned in the article in San Francisco just banning the construction of onsite cafeterias seems to recognize this at least.
Re: Bay Area cities are cracking down on free food at tech companies
#30Can anyone comment on the legality of this? IANAL and it’s just a feeling, but it seems like this must be unconstitutional somehow?
Freedom of religion, speech, press, petition, and assembly. Nope food's not in there, but perhaps I'm being too originalist. Eminent Domain is a thing too.
An oft repeated fallacy... Originalism applies when it extends the rights of the people or restricts the government, not the other way around.