Quote:
Originally Posted by mjohnson
Like seahawk and many others, I've lived under that system. It is very reasonable, and in some places like big cities, actually really good as it is location-based (gsa.gov) - the price seems to be set by three normal meals at restaurants and in reality who of us actually get "three squares" when on travel? The typical HI Express/Residence Inn breakfast was not considered in the math but meals included as part of the work (and on the agenda) were deducted.
Our operation (FFRDC under DoE) simply gave you the M&IE regardless of if you used it. Of course, any overpayment would be income and should be reported (contact your tax critter). From my experience at least, I was certain to use up all of my per diem.
As fed contractors (and not congress or the supreme court) we were, in writing and we actually stuck to it, very limited in receiving or granting freebies. I was never in the orbit of expensing meals for visitors but I'm sure it could be done.
A non-gubm't business could just cut-n-paste for a pretty straightforward system. It's simple and would probably keep any auditors satisfied.
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The only problem is that business travelers rarely get the hotel rates that federal employees are offered.
I travel to Boise ID a lot. The government rate is $165/night. For most hotels, good luck getting that rate. A business that adopts the GSA rates would have a problem getting the employees into decent hotels