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HR Outsourcing: © 2007 William B. Bierce. All rights reserved. On January 12, 2007, U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Finance Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-IA) proposed a tax relief package for small business. While the $8 billion package is essentially a tax relief program, the “Small Business and Work Opportunity Act of 2007” would also regulate professional employer organizations (“PEO’s”). Role of PEO’s. PEO’s provide outsourced HR services such as hiring, firing, policy manuals, payroll, withholding, optional group health, 401(k) and other HR administration. Unlike simple payroll services who are not directly responsible for employment tax compliance, PEO’s become technically liable as co-employer for withholding and payment of payroll taxes. The nature of the regulation highlights the benefits and burdens of PEO’s. While PEO’s tend to cover smaller businesses only, the definition of PEO reaches across all HRO service sectors. Legitimacy through Regulation. The proposal marks a new milestone in the PEO industry. Initially, PEO’s wanted to achieve co-employment status to enable them to aggregate employees, permit their customers to enjoy the benefits of scale and legitimately include their customer’s employees in ERISA plans such as health, medical and 401(k)’s. The “Small Business and Work Opportunity Act of 2007” would legitimize and regulate this industry in the United States and serve as a model for consideration in other countries. The Joint Committee on Taxation staff report noted that “customers generally rely on the PEO for employment tax compliance (without designating the PEO as a reporting agent) and treat the employees as employees of the PEO.” Jan. 17, 2007. PEO’s as Aggregators. This legislation takes note of the fact that certain employment tax rules depend on the aggregate amount of wages. Under the proposed law, if certain requirements are met, a certified PEO will be treated as the employer of an “work site employee” performing services for any customer of the certified PEO. This treatment will only apply to the remuneration that the PEO remits to the work site employee. No other employer would be treated as employer for such purposes, freeing the work site employer from responsibility for tax compliance. Standards.
The establishment of a certification program for “Certified
Professional Employer Organizations” would require them to meet certain
standards set by IRS. Businesses
that contract with certified PEO’s would be assured they would not be liable
for those taxes already paid to the certified PEO. These requirements include demonstrated experience in the
business under IRS standards, use of an accrual method of accounting,
satisfaction of a bond or periodic independent financial reviews, agreement to
comply with IRS reporting requirements and other administrative requirements.
Contracts between PEO’s and Enterprise Customers who Supervise the Work Site Employees. The proposed law would define the terms of PEO services agreements with the “customers” who supervise the “work site employees” at the customer’s premises. These terms define the scope of services and shift responsibility to the PEO. Opportunities. This legislation, pushed by the Democratic leadership in the House, would facilitate tax compliance for small businesses and for the Government. It would require the small businesses to sign contracts with the PEO’s defining scope and legal obligations. ·
Consolidation
in the PEO Industry. It
would squeeze out marginal small PEO’s, who would be up for purchase by larger
ones. A new wave of consolidation would occur.
Investment bankers are on the doorstep.
And the protections for the “customers” would assure them that their
payments to the PEO’s will not be usurped by a marginal service provider. · Offshoring and Global Services Delivery. By promoting economies of scale, the new legislation could also promote a more global integration of service delivery platforms for PEO services. As a result, this legislation could promote even more HR outsourcing, bundled with additional HR administrative services. Lessons for the Larger Universe. When it comes to handling client funds such as tax payments, the lesson is that either the customer or the government will require a bond or other active audit supervision to avoid financial defaults. Pricing for any services that involve such handling will be increased, and large PEO’s will gain a cost advantage by reason of economies of scale. Posted: January 22, 2007 Further Reading: |
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