Well, generally fringe benefits are taxable to the person who is an employee or not. There are "qualified" fringe benefits that are tax free to the party receiving that benefit; and it can even be provided not to the employee directly, but someone in their family, and not by the employer directly, but a third party. From the IRS guidelines:

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/employee-benefits

"Fringe Benefits

Fringe benefits are generally included in an employee’s gross income (there are some exceptions). The benefits are subject to income tax withholding and employment taxes. Fringe benefits include cars and flights on aircraft that the employer provides, free or discounted commercial flights, vacations, discounts on property or services, memberships in country clubs or other social clubs, and tickets to entertainment or sporting events.

In general, the amount the employer must include is the amount by which the fair market value of the benefits is more than the sum of what the employee paid for it plus any amount that the law excludes. There are other special rules that employers and employees may use to value certain fringe benefits. See Publication 15-B, Employers' Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits, for more information."

This is why relying on the IRS is the best course:

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15b