Employee Benefits Tax Advocacy
One of the main duties of the AICPA is to advocate for sound tax policy in the legislative, regulative, and administrative arenas. This section contains information on the various issues members of the AICPA's Employee Benefits Tax Technical Resource Panel have addressed in their advocacy work. It includes comment letters, written testimony, as well as details other advocacy efforts in the employee benefits area of taxation, including the topics of retirement plans and executive compensation.
News and Development
Below are recent developments in this area:
- AICPA submitted written testimony to the House Committee on Small Business for the record of the public hearing on The Challenge of Retirement Savings for Small Employers, October 2013
- AICPA submitted recommendations on retirement plan simplification to the House Committee on Ways and Means, Tax Reform Working Group on Pensions/Retirement, April 2013
- AICPA submitted comments on proposed regulations issued on employer shared responsibility for health insurance coverage, March 14, 2013
- AICPA submitted written testimony at a hearing on Opportunities for Savings: Removing Obstacles for Small Businesses, March 2012
Key Advocacy Issues
Internal Controls Related to Employee Benefits
On June 6, 2012 the Employee Plans (EP) subcommittee of IRS's Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT) released the report "
Employee Plans: Analysis and Recommendations Regarding the Scope of the EP Examination Process
". The report recommends that IRS reduce sanctions for retirement plan sponsors that have taken steps to establish internal controls. In response to the report, the IRS has requested that the benefits community work with them to help take the mystery out of IRS employee plan audits. The AICPA's Employee Benefits Tax TRP has eagerly joined in this effort. We will be sure to keep you posted as new details of this project emerge.
Top Heavy Provisions
The AICPA provided written testimony to the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging for the record of the hearing on Opportunities for Savings: Removing Obstacles for Small Businesses held on March 7, 2012. As part of the written testimony the AICPA recommended an exception from the vesting and top-heavy minimum contributions (also known as the "top-heavy rules") for certain defined contribution plans.
To further promote this issue, the AICPA is currently drafting a comment letter urging members of Congress to provide for an exception from the top-heavy rules for certain defined contribution plans.
Comprehensive List of Advocacy Issues
Over the years the AICPA has commented on many issues in the area of employee benefits. Click here to see a comprehensive list of comments submitted to the IRS, Treasury, Congress and other governmental agencies related to the taxation of employee benefits.
Resources
For various practice support aids, including guides, checklists and articles related to employee benefits, including compensation related issues
visit the Employee Benefits Tax Resources page.
