- 4 - An employment tax specialist conducted the examination of petitioner (the examining agent). The examining agent interviewed Ms. Lopez. The examining agent also received written responses to questionnaires she provided to four of petitioner’s instructors whom she had randomly selected from a list Ms. Lopez provided. In the interviews of the four instructors, three acknowledged they were given “manuals”, but none of them believed the directives were mandatory. Two of the three who received the manuals specifically stated they were not mandatory. The fourth instructor denied that any manual was issued. The documents in question were not titled “manuals” but rather were guidelines for conducting dance classes, instructions in first aid, and an “Employee Code of Conduct”. The latter merely set forth basic behavioral norms and prohibited vulgar language. After reviewing Ms. Lopez’s statements and the instructors’ responses, the examining agent determined that petitioner and the instructors had created employer-employee relationships rather than principal-independent-contractor relationships. Specifically, the Examining Agent concluded that: (1) Petitioner did not qualify for section 530 relief as provided in the Revenue Act of 1978, Pub. L. 95-600, 92 Stat. 2885, as amended; (2) petitioner exercised sufficient behavioral and financial control over its instructors to classify them as employees; and (3)Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011