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employee if the taxpayer’s treatment of the individual was in
reasonable reliance on (1) judicial precedent, (2) published
rulings, (3) technical advice with respect to the taxpayer, (4) a
letter ruling to the taxpayer, (5) a past IRS audit of the
taxpayer if the audit entailed no assessment attributable to the
taxpayer’s employment tax treatment of individuals holding
positions substantially similar to the position held by the
individual whose status is at issue, or (6) a longstanding
recognized practice of a significant segment of the industry in
which the individual was engaged. Sec. 530(a)(2); Veterinary
Surgical Consultants, P.C. v. Commissioner, 117 T.C. ___, ___
(2001) (slip op. at 10-11). A taxpayer who fails to meet any of
the safe havens is still entitled to relief if the taxpayer can
demonstrate, in some other manner, a reasonable basis for not
treating the individual as an employee. Veterinary Surgical
Consultants, P.C. v. Commissioner, supra at ___ (slip op. at 11).
A. Application of Section 530(a)(1)
Prior to 1992, petitioner treated all of its production
workers (cash payroll workers and bakery workers) as employees.
Prior to 1992, petitioner treated at least one route distributor
and at least two outside sales workers as employees. Miller
testified that many of petitioner’s workers were employees in
1991.
In 1992, petitioner did not file Forms 1099 for (1) seven
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