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respondent treated the $24,550 in compensation that petitioner
received for her work as an elected official of the tribal
council as exempt from employment taxes for both wage withholding
and self-employment tax purposes. Respondent, however, concluded
that petitioner’s work as secretary or executive assistant to the
tribal president did not qualify as work by an elected official
of the tribe, that petitioner in that capacity was acting as an
independent contractor, and that petitioner was subject to self-
employment tax on the $33,295 she received with regard thereto.
Under section 1401, individuals are liable for tax on self-
employment income. Self-employment income is defined as “gross
income derived by an individual from any trade or business
carried on by such individual”. Sec. 1402(a). In general, an
individual’s performance of services as an employee does not give
rise to self-employment income. Sec. 1402(c)(2); Robinson v.
Commissioner, 117 T.C. 308, 320 (2001).
The presumption of correctness under Rule 142(a) generally
applies to respondent’s classification of a taxpayer’s employment
status for Federal tax purposes, and the burden is on the
taxpayer to prove otherwise. Boles Trucking, Inc. v. United
States, 77 F.3d 236, 240 (8th Cir. 1996); Feivor v. Commissioner,
T.C. Memo. 1995-107.2
2 Because petitioner submitted no credible evidence with
regard to her employment status, the burden of proof on this fact
(continued...)
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