Why is it ridiculous? Because your favorite brand of deceiving two bit shyster shakedown artist of a politician didn’t think of it first? Any legitimization of forced coercion that justifying a government doing what you or I would be thrown in jail for is the same rational that can be used for justifying taxing any employer benefit. It doesn’t matter if it is stock options or life insurance or employer paid health insurance, tuition assistance paid time off anything and everything can legitimately be taxed. It all springs from the same wrong. The 13th amendment is perpetuating an evil, in this case theft for some self defined greater social good. In a totalitarian society that we are now becoming it is all the same.