From what I understand in my intermediate level accounting course, it
is considered an aggressive tactic if a company capitalizes the wages of their employees. However, I really can't see how the accounting would differ substantially. Here's my logic:
Case 1. Suppose a company pays out $665,000 a month in wages to its all its employees, combined. Moreover, the company is mature and in a "steady-state" condition. Every month, the company expenses this $665K, and this is pre-taxed.
Case 2. On the other hand, suppose a company capitalizes its wages to its employees. It capitalizes $100,000,000 @ 7% for 30 years. This amortizes to about $665K/month. This figure is also paid on a pretax basis.
If anything Case 2 may even be *worse* since they must account for the $100,000,000 "loan", which shows up in the debt/equity ratio (now increased). Also, ROA is lower.