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Of all the criticisms one can make of this article, this is one of the weakest. If I agree to a $10k pay cut from my employer, that's functionally equivalent to me giving my employer $10k.

(and in the US at least, 'credits' are usually applied at the very end of the tax process, so have a real 1:1 value with dollars owed, as opposed to deductions which can have varying value)

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That would be true if in case you refuse the cut, you continue to be employed at the same salary.

If the alternative is not to get anything (or severance), you would weigh it against future scenarios and calculate your scenarios based on some assumptions eg how many years you planned to stay employed and what is the expected time it will take you to find a new job and what are the costs of switching (house sale and moving costs) etc.

Those are other criticisms of the analysis, not the simple fact that credits are worth 1:1 in real dollars, which is what the original poster was objecting to.

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