You can pay for the shipment of the household goods without worrying about taxes assuming you pay it directly to the moving company.

Any payment made directly to the employee would be subject to taxes. Most companies gross up this amount. For example, you want to pay an employee $5000 to cover his move. You pay $8000 (or whatever) through payroll and his net comes out to $5000 (or so).

The owner is wrong if he wants to do this without taxing them.