Fair Playing Field Act of 2013

Summary

Fair Playing Field Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the classification of workers for employment tax purposes, to: (1) repeal the prohibition against issuance of regulations and guidance by the Secretary of the Treasury on workers' employment tax status (i.e., as an employee or as an independent contractor) enacted by the Revenue Act of 1978; (2) direct the Secretary to issue regulations and other guidance to clarify the proper employment status of workers for employment tax purposes; (3) prohibit a retroactive assessment of employment tax, except with respect to certain skilled workers, for tax periods after December 31, 1978, and before a specified reclassification date for worker misclassifications, unless the taxpayer had no reasonable basis for not treating a worker as an employee; (4) require taxpayers who hire independent contractors on a regular and ongoing basis to provide such contractors with notice of their federal tax obligations, the labor and employment law protections that do not apply to them, and their right to seek a status determination from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); and (5) eliminate reduced penalty provisions for failure to withhold income taxes for taxpayers who lack a reasonable basis for treating a worker as other than an employee (i.e., as an independent contractor). Provides that for purposes of determining whether a registered representative of a securities broker-dealer is an employee for employment tax purposes, no weight shall be given to instructions from a service recipient which are imposed only in compliance with investor protection standards. Makes this rule applicable to services performed by a broker-dealer after December 31, 1997.

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Timeline

1. 14 November 2013

   Introduced

   Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

   Source: IntroReferral

2. 14 November 2013

   Introduced

   Introduced in Senate

   Source: IntroReferral

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

• Introduced in Senate · 14 November 2013 · Official file

Documents

3 official files

• Introduced in Senate (text)

  Introduced in Senate · EN · 14 November 2013

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Introduced in Senate (PDF)

  Introduced in Senate · EN · 14 November 2013

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Introduced in Senate

  summary · EN · 14 November 2013

  Open at official source

Sponsors

• Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH] · D · Sponsor
• Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA] · D · Sponsor
• Richard Durbin · D · Sponsor
• Patty Murray · D · Sponsor
• Rep. Harkin, Tom [D-IA-5] · D · Sponsor
• Sen. Franken, Al [D-MN] · D · Sponsor
• Richard Blumenthal · D · Sponsor
• Rep. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA-6] · D · Sponsor
• Bernie Sanders · I · Cosponsor
• Elizabeth Warren · D · Cosponsor
• Rep. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD-3] · D · Cosponsor
• · ssfi00 · Standing

Related records

• related to → Fair Playing Field Act of 2014