Boss Pays for Healthy Lunch, Tax Authorities Want to ‘Cash In’
There are no mexicano’s or smulrollen warming under a heat lamp in the canteen at Koppert Cress; every day, a healthy, fresh lunch is prepared there for all employees. The Tax Authorities consider this a benefit in kind and want to impose a €120,000 fine. Director Rob Baan intends to fight the fine all the way to the Supreme Court.
Rob Baan believes the government should promote healthy eating. There are plenty of initiatives for that too—just think of the planned tax reduction on vegetables and fruit —which still hasn’t been arranged, but that’s beside the point. Rob does this by offering his two hundred employees a healthy lunch every day.
There are no croquettes in the canteen, but fruit and vegetables. ‘We only serve water flavoured with fresh fruit. We also have all kinds of salads, vegetable spreads, grilled vegetables, fresh soup and bread. That last one is necessary because some people do physically demanding work, but even they often choose a salad.’
Croquette Lover
The staff are generally happy with the lunch, apart from the occasional croquette fan. But the Tax Authorities aren’t keen on the lunch either. They sent Rob an additional tax assessment of around €120,000. How does that work? Companies may spend a certain amount per employee on extras outside the workplace, such as a company party or the annual Christmas hamper. If a company exceeds that amount, it is considered a benefit in kind and, well, it has to be paid for. No less than an 80 per cent fine on the expensive lunches—cha-ching!
Occupational Physician
Rob Baan won’t accept it. He has no intention of paying the tax fine and has since faced them in court. ‘The fine isn’t the problem; it’s about the principle,’ he tells RTL Z. ‘A healthy lunch shouldn’t be taxed; it isn’t disguised wages.’ Unfortunately, the judge did not rule in Baan’s favour, but he will continue, even if that means going all the way to the Supreme Court.
His strategy: that healthy lunch isn’t an extra, but—together with the sports facilities at the company—is part of the occupational health policy designed to keep all employees as healthy as possible. He hopes to convince the Tax Authorities this way, and supports his ideas with statements from the occupational physician. Who knows, maybe it will work?
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Source: RTL Z
