ALI-ABA Topical Courses Worker Classifications: New IRS Settlement Program & Other Winning Strategies November 10, 2011 Video Presentation AGENDA FACULTY PARTICIPANTS FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES STUDY MATERIALS TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. IRS Launches Voluntary Compliance Settlement Program for Misclassified Workers By William H. Weissman 2. Voluntary Classification Settlement Program, from IRS website 5 3. Announcement 2011-64 regarding Voluntary Classification Settlement Program 9 4. VCSP Frequently Asked Question, from IRS website 15 5. Independent Contractor or Employee? IRS Training Materials (1996) 21 6. Revenue Ruling 87-41 (January 1987) 183 7. Present Law and Background Relating to Worker Classification for Federal Tax Purposes Scheduled for a Public Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures and the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support of the House Committee on Ways and Means on May 8, 2007 By the staff of the Joint Committee On Taxation Page ix xi xiii 1 195 vii
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ALI-ABA Topical Courses Worker Classifications: New IRS Settlement Program & Other Winning Strategies Thursday, November 10, 2011 Live Video Webcast PROGRAM (All Times Eastern Standard) 1:00 pm Worker Classification Strategies: The New IRS Voluntary Classification Settlement Program and Other Options --Panel Discussion --Audience Questions (submitted via email) 4:00 pm Adjournment DISCLAIMER Nothing in this program, the program materials, or communications stemming from the program (including questions and answers) should be considered as the rendering of legal advice. Non-lawyers should seek the advice of a licensed attorney in all legal matters. Registrants/readers should assure themselves that these presentations/materials/communications are still current and applicable at the time they are delivered or read. Neither ALI-ABA nor the speakers/authors can warrant that these presentations/ materials/communications will continue to be accurate, nor do they warrant them to be completely free of errors when delivered/published. Registrants/readers should verify statements before relying on them. These presentations/materials/communications reflect the viewpoints of their speakers/authors and do not necessarily express the opinions of ALI-ABA Continuing Professional Education or its sponsors. The members of this program's faculty are contributing their services to further the continuing legal education of their fellow members of the Bar. ix
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ALI-ABA Topical Courses Worker Classifications: New IRS Settlement Program & Other Winning Strategies Thursday, November 10, 2011 Live Video Webcast PLANNING CHAIR William Hays Weissman, Esquire Littler Mendelson P.C. Treat Towers 1255 Treat Blvd., Suite 600 Walnut Creek, CA 94597 PANELISTS Daniel Boeskin Director in the Washington National Tax Service PwC 1301 K Street NW Suite 800 West Washington, DC 20005-3333 Ligeia Donis Rebecca Wilson Senior Technician Reviewer Assistant Branch Chief Employment Tax Branch 2 Employment Tax Branch 1 IRS Office of Chief Counsel IRS Office of Chief Counsel 1111 Constitution Ave. NW 1111 Constitution Ave. NW Washington, DC 20224 Washington, DC 20224 SPECIAL PLANNING ASSISTANCE Maria L. Petrillo, Esquire Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC Two Liberty Place 50 South 16th Street, 22nd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19102 ALI-ABA Staff Producer: Harry Kyriakodis, Esquire xi
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FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES Planning Chair William Hays Weissman, Esquire Littler Mendelson P.C. Treat Towers Walnut Creek, CA William Hays Weissman has extensive experience in numerous aspects of federal, state and local taxation and represents clients in employment tax audits, protests and appeals before many federal and state agencies. He also represents clients in litigation in state and federal courts and has specific expertise with the Internal Revenue Code (Subtitle C and Employment Taxes) and the California Unemployment Insurance Code. Further, Mr. Weissman counsels clients on a broad range of employment tax matters. In addition to providing tax expertise, he represents and assists government contractors with audits by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. He regularly advises clients on issues relating to OFCCP jurisdiction, alleged single employer status, and disparate impact and discrimination in hiring, promotion and compensation. Mr. Weissman is a frequent speaker and author on employment tax issues and writes a regular column on state tax-related issues. His articles have appeared in numerous tax-related publications. A shareholder at Littler Mendelson, he is a member of the Employment Taxes, Staffing and Contingent Workers and Affirmative Action/OFCCP Compliance Practice Groups. Formerly, William worked as tax counsel for the California Franchise Tax Board where he served in the Multistate Tax Bureau. While at the FTB, he was involved in numerous highly complex and significant matters, including acting as counsel in a landmark case addressing distortion in the apportionment formula. William also served as a law clerk for the National Indian Gaming Commission from 1993 to 1995 and worked as an extern for Chief Judge Loren A. Smith of the United States Court of Federal Claims. In law school, William served as managing editor of the District of Columbia Law Review. Faculty Ligeia Donis Senior Technician Reviewer Employment Tax Branch 2 IRS Office of Chief Counsel Washington, DC Ms. Donis is the Senior Technician Reviewer of Employment Tax Branch 2 in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, Tax Exempt & Government Entities. She has been with the IRS Office of Chief Counsel since 2005 and served as Assistant Branch Chief of Employment Tax Branch 1 from 2009-2011. Ms. Donis provides technical guidance in many employment tax areas including expense reimbursement plans and worker classification, and participated in the development and implementation xiii
of the new Voluntary Classification Settlement Program. Ms. Donis has been involved in various large projects involving providing guidance and implementing program changes, including the new process for making interest-free adjustments and claiming refunds of employment taxes, implementation of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act of 2010 payroll tax exemption and retention credit. She received a law degree from Catholic University Law School and a BA from Duke University. Rebecca Wilson Assistant Branch Chief Employment Tax Branch 1 IRS Office of Chief Counsel Washington, DC Ms. Wilson is Assistant Branch Chief of Employment Tax Branch 1 in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, Tax Exempt & Government Entities. She works on various litigation matters, including worker classification and section 530 cases in the Tax Court and employment tax refund cases in district courts and the Court of Federal Claims. Rebecca has been with the Office of Chief Counsel since 1988. Before joining the IRS, she was an associate at a law firm in Portland, Oregon. She holds a juris doctor degree from Duke University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Florida. Dan Boeskin Director, Tax Controversy and Dispute Resolution Washington National Tax Service, PwC Washington, DC Mr. Boeskin has been a Director in the Washington National Tax Service since February 2009. During this time, the ABA Section of Taxation undertook a large scale project of providing guidance to Congress on ways to simplify the Internal Revenue Code. Mr. Boeskin spearheaded a project as part of the Tax Section's Employment Taxes Committee. Prior to joining PwC, he worked as a senior attorney and manager with the Internal Revenue Service, Office of Chief Counsel, for nine years. At IRS Chief Counsel, he was a manager in a National Office practice group providing legal advice regarding payroll taxes. In this capacity, Mr. Boeskin worked closely with the IRS and the Department of Justice providing technical advice in support of Tax Court and refund litigation. He also drafted treasury regulations, private letter rulings, technical advice memoranda, and other interpretive guidance involving payroll taxes. xiv