House Passes AICPA-Backed Mobile Workforce Bill

The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2315, the Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act of 2015, on September 21.  The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the state CPA societies are strong supporters of the bill and have long fought for its enactment into law as an equitable solution to the myriad of state income tax withholding laws, and varying de minimis exemption periods, that make compliance extremely difficult and time consuming for employers and their employees.

H.R. 2315 would require that an employee’s earnings would be subject to state income tax and withholding when the employee performs work in a state for more than 30 days during the calendar year. Having a uniform national standard would significantly simplify compliance with all of the different state laws.

“We believe that this is an appropriate balance,” AICPA President and CEO Barry C. Melancon, CPA, CGMA, wrote in a September 19 letter to the House urging support for the bill.  “This bill is critically important to thousands of CPA firms and many of their business clients, as well as the thousands of CPAs employed by companies,” Melancon stated.  He noted that small businesses are particularly impacted. 

In an AICPA statement released following the vote on H.R. 2315, Melancon congratulated the House on its passage of the measure and thanked key House supporters.  “We appreciate the effective championship of the bill by Representatives Mike Bishop (R-Mich.) and Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and their commitment to driving the bill through the House.  And we are grateful to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) for shepherding the bill through his committee and to the House for consideration,” Melancon stated.

Melancon urged the Senate to act promptly on the legislation.