Final answer:
The tax-equivalent value of a tax-exempt employee benefit with a value of $500 for someone in the 28 percent tax bracket is $694.44.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the tax-equivalent value, we first need to determine the amount of pre-tax income needed to pay for the benefit. Since Barb Hotchkins is in the 28 percent tax bracket, we can use the formula: Tax-equivalent value = Benefit value / (1 - Tax rate). Plugging in the values, we get: Tax-equivalent value = $500 / (1 - 0.28) = $694.44.