United States Federal Circuit

In consolidated tax refund cases brought by entities that remit payroll and employment taxes on behalf of motion picture and television production companies, the judgment of the United States Court of Federal Claims rejecting plaintiffs' claims for tax refunds is affirmed, where: 1) the scope of plaintiffs' liability for employment taxes under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) and the Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) is determined by reference to the employees' employment relationships with the common law employers for which plaintiffs remit taxes; 2) the common law employers cannot decrease their liability by retaining entities such as plaintiffs to actually make the wage payments to the employees; and 3) plaintiff is barred from raising its theory that it overpaid the FUTA and FICA taxes because some of the individuals classified as employees were independent contractors.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/10/2013
• Published 09/10/2013

Judges

• DYK

Court

• United States Federal Circuit

Counsel