The decision in United States v. Quality Stores, Inc., No. 10-1563, 2012 WL 3871364, (6th Cir. Sept. 7, 2012) ("Quality Stores"), could provide significant Federal Insurance Contributions Act
(FICA) refund opportunities for employers that have made severance payments to
employees and have a principal place of business in certain states, KPMG
officials said on a recent webcast.
In a KPMG
webcast on a recent federal court of appeals ruling concerning taxability of
certain severance payments in four states under the Federal Insurance
Contribution Act (FICA), KPMG tax professionals pointed out that the decision
could have national implications and advised companies throughout the country
to examine potential tax-technical and business ramifications.
“Although this
decision is currently most pertinent to companies with their ‘principal place
of business’ in the Sixth Circuit states of Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio and
Tennessee, future Internal Revenue Service or court activity could expand the
geographic reach, and therefore employers based outside the Sixth Circuit
should also take notice,” said Scott Schapiro, a tax principal in KPMG’s
International Executive Services practice, one of the participants in the
webcast sponsored by the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm.
The U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled on Sept. 7 in United States vs.
Quality Stores, Inc., that severance-related payments made to former
employees of companies in the four-state area, as a result of involuntary
separations due to reductions in force or job eliminations, should not be
considered taxable compensation for FICA purposes and, consequently, should not
be subject to FICA taxes.
The ruling is
in conflict with a 2008 Federal Circuit court decision in CSX vs. United
Stateswhich found that such payments, except under specific circumstances,
are taxable under FICA.
“While these
conflicting decisions leave employers with a less than certain national
response, the Quality Stores ruling could open an opportunity for employers
with their‘principal place of business’ in the Sixth Circuit for potential
refund and/or prospective savings opportunities,” Schapiro said.
Schapiro and
other KPMG professionals on the webcast explained that, ultimately, the ability
of employers to rely on the Quality Stores decision, prospectively and for
refund purposes, will be based on several factors that take into account
geography, specific terms of severance payments made and, in the case of
refunds, future IRS or court action on the issue.
They also
pointed out that if a company has made past severance payments or anticipates
future severance payments as a result of closures, reductions in force, and
other similar actions, the FICA tax treatment of such severance payments may
also be worth analyzing.
The U.S.
government has until Oct. 22, 2012 to request a rehearing in the Sixth Circuit
case. Assuming a petition for rehearing is not filed and/or allowed, the
government has until Dec. 6, 2012 to file a certiorari petition with the U.S.
Supreme Court.
If you
have Tax
Questions, contact the Tax Lawyers at Marini
& Associates, P.A. for a FREE
Tax Consultation at www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms or Toll Free
at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).
Source:
Government Petitions Sixth Circuit for Rehearing in ‘Quality Stores' Case
ReplyDeleteThe government filed a petition Oct. 18 for rehearing en banc in the closely watched Quality Stores case involving the taxability of severance payments (United States v. Quality Stores Inc. (In re Quality Stores Inc.), 6th Cir., No. 10-1563, petition for rehearing filed 10/18/12).
The Sixth Circuit held Sept. 7 that payments a company made to employees as part of the company's severance program were not subject to tax under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) .
In upholding the rulings of the bankruptcy court and the district court, the appeals court expressly rejected the Federal Circuit's holding in CSX Corp. v. United States, 518 F.3d 1328 (Fed. Cir. 2008) that the payments were dismissal pay subject to tax.
The government noted in its petition for rehearing that the case “involves a question of exceptional importance” because of the conflict with the CSX case. The government also said that the total amount of FICA refund claims with IRS is more than $1 billion.