Current Government Relations Lobbying Efforts

APA Remains Staunch Supporter of Mobile Workforce Bill

In an ongoing effort to increase sponsorship for the Mobile Workforce State Tax Simplification Act, APA with our coalition partners has been meeting with staff of U.S. Representatives and Senators. APA Senior Manager of Government Relations Alice Jacobsohn is pictured here (far right) with Maryland Representative Chris Van Hollen (2nd from right) who entered his office while we were waiting to speak with his staff on May 24. Also pictured are Phillip Black, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (far left), and Liz Malm, Mobile Workforce Coalition (2nd from left).

APA sent a letter in December 2015 to Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), chairman of U.S. House Judiciary Committee, regarding the Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act of 2015 (H.R. 2315). APA urged Chairman Goodlatte "to release the House Judiciary Committee report for the bill and include the chairman's request to put the bill on the House suspension calendar."

Read the letter here.

In June 2015, APA submitted comments to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law for a hearing on HR 2315, the Mobile Workforce State Tax Simplification Act of 2015.

Read the comments here.

APA Urges Action on The Commuter Parity Act

In November and December 2015, APA sent letters to members of Congress and the Senate regarding parity in commuter benefits. The first letter, sent to Senators Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), suggested that commuter benefits for parking and transit could be fixed through the highway funding bill. The second letter was sent to Representative Kevin Brady (R-Texas), chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means, and House and Senate leadership, over the Commuter Benefit Parity Act of 2015(H.R. 990).

Read the Sen.Schumer letter here.

Read the Rep. Brady letter here.

In November 2014, the APA, along with a coalition of more than 50 organizations, signed on to a letter to Congress supporting passage of The Commuter Parity Act (H.R. 2288). The legislation would have restored parity and made permanent the qualified transportation fringe benefits for parking and public transportation. The letter urged Congress to address the expired tax provision prior to year end. 

Read the letter to the Senate here. 
Read the letter to the House of Representatives here. 

APA Supports Adequate Funding for the IRS

In September, the APA sent a letter to Congress supporting adequate funding for the IRS. While the House of Representatives has voted in favor of severe cuts to the FY 2015 budget, IRS funding likely will continue to be the subject of debate in Congress. The APA reminds Congress that the IRS must be properly funded so that it can provide accurate and timely information to taxpayers, deal with new and emerging issues such as identity theft, and fairly enforce the nation's tax laws. 

Read the full letter here. 

APA Urges Vote on Mobile Workforce Simplifiaction Act

The APA, as one of the leaders of a coalition of more than 260 employers and representatives of employers, has signed on to a letter requesting that the full House Judiciary Committee markup and vote for H.R. 1129, the Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act. 

Read the full letter here. 

IRS Issues Subcommittee Provides Input on Acceleration of W-2 Filing Date

President Obama's FY 2015 budget and at least one bill in Congress mention accelerating the Form W-2 filing deadline with the Social Security Administration as a means of preventing tax refund fraud. In response, the IRS Issues Subcommittee studied the potential impact of an earlier filing date and submitted a comment letter to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen outlining the current procedures, raising issues with accelerating the filing deadline, and offering potential alternatives. 

Read the letter here. 

APA Member Testifies in Support of Mobile Workforce Bill

In April, APA member Lori Brown testified on behalf of the APA before the House Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial, and Antitrust Law in favor of H.R. 1129, the Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act. The bill would create a 30-day safe harbor during which employees traveling out of state on business would not be subject to nonresident state income tax. 

Read the written testimony here. 
Read the oral testimony here. 

APA Supports Commuter Benefit Parity

Congress chose not to enact legislation that would maintain the monthly pretax benefit for mass transit and qualified parking at the same rate. As a result, the monthly pretax benefit for mass transit is $245 and the benefit for qualified parking is $130 per month. The APA supports two bills in Congress that would establish permanent parity between the two rates, thus making administration of the benefit easier for payroll professionals. 

Read APA's letter here and find out how you can show your support. 

APA Submits Brief to Supreme Court in Quality Stores

The outcome of Quality Stores could have significant payroll tax implications for employers, specifically as it relates to FICA refunds. The APA has been monitoring the case's movement all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. APA, with assistance from its legal counsel, filed a friend of the court brief with the Supreme Court in December urging the Court to find that SUB-pay are not taxable wages for FICA purposes.

Read the brief here. 

Proposed Regulations on Information Reporting for
ALEs under ACA released, APA provides comments

The IRS and Treasury released REG-136630-12 in September, which contained proposed regulations providing guidance to employers that are subject to the information reporting requirements under IRC 6056. The proposed regulations affect applicable large employers (ALEs), or those employers with 50 or more full-time employees, including full-time equivalents. Two new forms to report this information, as well as a proposal to place this information on the Form W-2 were among the highlights. 

Read APA's letter here. 

APA Urges Adoption of Special Procedure for DOMA Reporting

Many tax benefits that were previously available only to a husband and wife of opposite sexes have now been made available to married same-sex couples due to the Supreme Court finding Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. Many employers that treated the value of spousal benefits for same-sex spouses as includible in gross income and wages may now need to correct overpayments of withheld income and FICA taxes. The IRS Issues Subcommittee wrote to the IRS requesting a special administrative procedure to reduce burden on employers. 

Read their letter here. 

As Pay or Play Provisions Released, APA Provides Comments

The IRS released proposed regulations (REG 138006-12) implementing the employer "play or pay" provisions in the Affordable Care Act. Much of the proposed regulations adopt guidance previously released by the IRS; however, it does contain new information regarding full-time status and educational organizations. After hearing concerns from multiple members, the APA submitted comments to the IRS regarding the proposed regulations. 

Read APA's Letter.