Taxpayers’ Brief Filed in Mayo Foundation
August 16, 2010
The taxpayers have filed their opening brief in Mayo Foundation, a copy of which is attached. They argue primarily that the statutory language of the exemption unambiguously includes medical residents, and therefore there is no occasion to consider the reasonableness of the IRS regulation. Secondarily, they argue that the regulation is in any event arbitrary and unreasonable.
With respect to the question of the correct deference analysis discussed in our previous post, the brief relies heavily on the National Muffler Dealers factors. It identifies five factors that militate against the reasonableness of the regulation: (1) does not harmonize … Read More
Supreme Court to Address Deference Owed to Regulation Governing FICA Taxation of Medical Residents
August 2, 2010
In Mayo Foundation, et al. v. United States, No. 09-837, the Supreme Court will consider whether medical residents are exempt from FICA taxation, with the decision likely to turn on the level of deference the Court is willing to accord to a recent regulatory change. Although the issue may seem obscure, there are 8,000 residency programs in the United States, and the government estimates that $700 million in taxes per year is at stake, with $2.1 billion in refund claims pending.
The issue involves the meaning of the “student exemption” to FICA, which excludes from the definition of “employment” “service … Read More
