- 15 - subject to regulation under ERISA, but that the payments were in the nature of a buyout. Respondent also maintains that the Courts of Appeals' decisions in Milligan and Gump are erroneous, based on the following arguments. First, it is argued that both decisions require that a portion of the taxpayer's compensation be set aside as earned, to provide a specific fund for the post- termination payments, else the taxpayer's business activity could not be considered the "source" of such payments. Thus, respondent construes both decisions as adding a "salary reduction agreement" or "direct tracing" requirement to the "derived from trade or business" standard that is not supported by other case law or the language of section 1402. Second, respondent argues that the existence of post- termination conditions upon the agent's right to receive the termination payments should play no role in deciding whether such payments are subject to self-employment tax. Respondent stresses that the relevant statutory language provides no exclusion from self-employment tax liability for income which is received only after the recipient satisfies certain post-termination obligations. Respondent argues: (1) The fact that a post- termination obligation exists does not detract from the fact that an individual's right to receive income directly arises from his prior business activities; (2) the introduction of any such "post-termination obligation" exclusion into the statutoryPage: Previous 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Next
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