Faux frais of production

It refers to "incidental operating expenses" incurred in the productive investment of capital, which do not themselves add new value to output.

In Marx's social accounting, the faux frais are a component of constant capital, or alternately are funded by a fraction of the new surplus value.

These can include all kinds of things like bookkeeping, training, catering, cleaning & repairs, advertising, insurance, security services, bribes, taxes & levies etc.

In general, Marx seems to have regarded net insurance and tax payments from gross production income as part of surplus value.

In 2002, the US IRS tax-assessed capital costs of all US corporations with a positive net income included the following items: In the NIPAs, the Bureau of Economic Analysis adds $26.2 billion worth of expensing on meals and entertainment, oilwell bonus payments written off, adjustments for insurance carriers and savings and loan associations, amortization of intangible assets, and tax-exempt interest income.