It certainly counts as part of the compensation package.

That said, it's compensation employees accepted with conditions in its use, and to intentionally violate those conditions is not ethically supportable.

for comparison, in germany it is compensation and taxed as income. as far as i know almost everything an employee in germany receives is considered compensation to avoid tax loopholes. even actual free meals served in the office (not just vouchers) are assigned a monetary value and taxed. only snacks, drinks or exceptional meals (like pizza for the all-hands meeting) are exempt.