A fringe benefits tax (FBT) is taxation of most, but not all fringe benefits, which are generally non-cash employee benefits. The rationale behind FBT is that it helps restore equity and fairness to those employees who do not receive such benefits, and allows a Federal Government to more fairly assess taxpayer entitlement to government benefits, or liability to government taxes or levies.
This kind of taxation is done in a number of countries and the applicable laws vary. See the corresponding articles for details.