Comment by marcosdumay

> you do not own your employees

Well, that framing is just wrong. The companies are paying taxes over what those employees created, not over the employees. Does the company own the software?

> The IRS is using a theory of value where...

Notice that all of your 3 points are exactly like any other kind of capital.

Most countries exclude salaries from the income calculation because it has good practical consequences (both on making accounting cheaper and on incentivizing companies to hire), not because of any theoretical problem.