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I haven't been able to find a direct answer to my specific question while scrolling through this entire thread, so I was wondering if anyone with some firsthand experience might be willing to weigh in on a quick scenario for me?
If I were to launch a startup within a tech hub or perhaps a local small business incubator, and if they offered me a rent-free workspace for that first year, would the IRS still step in and try to claim that "free" rent as a taxable benefit based on its fair market value, or would those overhead costs simply be considered covered by the tech hub itself?
Thanks so much!
I know plenty of guys who act like absolute tough guys until it's actually time to serve their mandatory military duty. Honestly, wouldn't it be better if people like that were sent to work in remote rural towns doing manual labor for at least double the required term, just so they could learn what it actually means to give back to the country? Isn't the whole point of having an army to maintain peace rather than looking for fights? After all, there are still so many militant groups and different nations in the world that don't share our values and would jump at the chance to invade us if they ever got the opportunity—just look at what happened about 10 or 15 years ago. Relying solely on a professional military isn't the answer either, because in a worst-case scenario, even regular civilians end up being pulled into the conflict anyway.
That’s why I really think we should stop acting like six months of service is some irreversible waste of life. From what I see, about 95% of those fulfilling their service end up just sitting around watching TV or playing video games; they aren't exactly out there doing anything "productive," right? On top of that, you have to consider how many people serving their terms end up becoming direct competition for actual job seekers, simply because the government can hire them for much less than a private citizen.
If you really sit down and think about it, this type of civilian service might actually be doing more harm to our society than if it didn't exist at all.