Statement of Citizenship
Letter from member confirms SOC acceptance
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| From the "Reasonable Action" Newsletter |
| |
| S.A.P. Fellowship |
| P.O. Box 91 |
| Westminster, MD 21158 |
| |
| 410-857-4441 (Voice) |
| 410-857-5249 (Fax) |
| info@save-a-patriot.org (E-mail) |
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AN INCREASING NUMBER OF EMPLOYERS ARE ACCEPTING STATEMENTS OF
CITIZENSHIP AND COMPLYING WITH THE LAW
To the Editor --
My name is Steven, and I live in New York. I am a
Licensed Practical Nurse working for the local hospital in town.
During the summer of 1992, 1 applied for a position with a local
health center that was affiliated with another hospital. I learned
of the position through an advertisement placed in a local
newspaper which said that a part time or per diem position was
opening for an L.P.N. and that applications were being taken at
their office.
I filled out the application (minus a social security
number) and dropped it off at the nursing office. Several weeks
went by without a response, and since I was busy with several other
private duty positions, I'd pretty much forgotten about the job.
Several months passed and one afternoon I was in the grocery store
and ran into the nurse that was in charge of the health center.
She asked me why I had not applied for the job and I explained to
her that I had submitted an application but had not yet been
contacted for an interview. She asked me to give her a call at the
office and said she would make sure that I was interviewed if I was
still interested.
Within a few days the lady who does the hiring contacted
me and asked if I could come in for an interview and "fill out the
required paperwork." When I arrived at the office I went thru a
small orientation. Then I filled out the forms but when she handed
me the final form to fill out it was a W-4. I told her that I was
not required to file this form and that I did not have a social
security number. She said "ALL" Americans are required to file
this form so that the proper amount of taxes can be withheld each
week. I remained calm and polite but informed her that she was
mistaken. I explained that not all Americans were required to do
this and that in fact, compliance was voluntary. She was becoming
visibly upset with me. I thought it would be wise to explain that
I had the documentation she would need to accept my claim and that
if she or her superior would comply with the law they would be
informed by the I.R.S. that I was correct. She emphatically
replied, "Well... I have never in my life heard of such a thing! "
She was adamant, and in her mind she just knew that I was
required to file the W-4, "just like everyone else," but she
agreed to listen anyway. I gave her a copy of my signed
"Statement of Citizenship" (in duplicate), a copy of I.R.S.
Publication 515, a copy of C.F.R 26, sec. 1.1441-5, and a copy of
the suggested letter of transmittal supplied by S.A.P. I went thru
each and every page and explained to her what it all meant. Then
I advised her that the burden of responsibility for these claims
rested with me, and that regardless of what she believed, the law
required her to forward my "statement of citizenship" to
Philadelphia so that they could make a determination. I went on to
explain that she would be obeying the law and that there was no
reason to fear any repercussions for doing so. I thought that it
was important to carefully explain the "Letter of Transmittal" to
make sure that it was directed to the I.R.S. in Philadelphia ONLY.
It never seems to fail. No matter how many times you
explain this to someone, they will call or write the local office
of the I.R.S. instead of Philadelphia. The local office will
immediately give the employer incorrect information and then the
employer tells the employee, "I told you so."
She was unsure of what to do even after I explained the
correct procedure, so she forwarded my paperwork to their main
office it the hospital in New York to dump the problem on them.
Just as I thought, the Finance Director at the main office ignored
the requirements of the law and called the local IRS office to ask
what they should do.
Naturally they told her that I was wrong and that I was
"required" to file the same W-4 as everyone else.
Well, in the meantime I started to work for the health
center. 'They made the standard deductions without my permission,
and I waited to hear from the home office about the disposition of
my statement of citizenship not realizing they had contacted the
local IRS. It was a month later before the office manager finally
informed me that the "Statement of Citizenship" and related
paperwork was invalid and that she was under pressure from New York
to get a signed W-4 with a social security number. I delayed as
long as was possible while trying to explain to the director that
she had made a mistake by not following the directions I had given,
and that this could all be resolved by simply sending the letter
of transmittal to the Philadelphia Office of the IRS. She refused,
and kept taking money from my paycheck each week.
I decided it was time to call Save-A-Patriot. After talking
with Irma in the National Workers Rights department, she wrote a
letter to the New York office to explain the law. About a week or
so later I received an inter-office memo from the home office with
a check for $224.00 and a letter of apology from the Finance
Director. She said that she had never encountered a situation such
as this, and was returning what they had deducted up until that
time to cover state and federal taxes. Not only did I receive a
complete refund, but I am currently receiving my full paycheck
with no deductions and they no longer want a W-4 or a social
security number.
[END]
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