01-31-2023, 07:14 PM
(01-20-2023, 06:28 PM)taylortbb Wrote:I agree! Heck, I'd even be happy with transit passes being offered to those who don't use parking (instead of a cash out). My biggest pet peeve with my employer (UW) is that a monthly parking pass is much, much cheaper than a transit pass, even with the discounted Corporate Pass. Now, a transit pass does give you transit access even when away from work, but I feel at a bare minimum parking should be the same cost (or more) than transit. Especially given UW's parking woes (pre-pandemic). They need to make transit far more appealing (and could do so, relatively easily, I think).(01-20-2023, 04:00 PM)bravado Wrote: Is parking at work a taxable benefit in some alternative reality? Should people who don’t drive get a refund from their employer?
Parking at work is a taxable benefit when parking costs money, like in DTK. But in the suburbs, where zoning mandates such massive amounts of parking that it drives the market price to zero, it's not considered a taxable benefit.
But just because the market price of parking is zero, doesn't mean parking is zero cost. It still has to be built, maintained, cleared of snow, etc. Some areas have adopted rules called parking cash out, which mandate that employees who don't use the parking get paid an amount equivalent to what the employer spends on providing free parking for the employees who drive.
It seems quite fair to me. If the employer is going to spend money on providing free parking, they should be mandated to offer an equally valuable credit towards transit/cycling/etc. The easiest form of which is to just give cash.