|
|
| IRS auditing Ohio prison contracts |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 03/26/2001 |
|
The Internal Revenue Service, at odds with Ohio over the state's use of private contractors to fill prison jobs, is auditing hundreds of contracts from 1998 and 1999, The Associated Press has learned. The largest of the 438 contracts were held by psychiatrists, doctors and other medical professionals, including more than 60 six-figure agreements, according to Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction records. The IRS has strict rules for when a worker is classified as an independent contractor, which involves a different method of tax payment. In the state's case, the IRS is claiming that the prison contractors should have been state employees and taxed as such, said Tina Krueger, a lawyer with the prison system. The IRS 'could say that there are certain guidelines we have to follow if we want to continue to use them as independent contractors, or else hire them, or not use them,'' said Joe Andrews, a prison spokesman. Hiring the contractors would be extremely difficult because of current budget constraints, Krueger said. Earlier this month, Reginald Wilkinson, prison system director, told lawmakers that his department will have to cut 300 employees by July and another 125 by the end of 2002. The state argues that it's up to private contractors to pay their own federal taxes. The contractors pay taxes now under different IRS rules for independent contractors. There are many problems hiring full-time employees at some state prisons because of the institutions' locations and the dangerous nature of prison work, Krueger said. Contracts also give the state a lot of flexibility because they don't require benefits and other administrative costs that go along with employees, she said. Almost all medical jobs in state prisons are held by contractors, said Kay Northrup, the state's deputy director of correctional health care. The IRS examines how much control an employer has over a worker when determining whether that worker should be classified as an employee or independent contractor. Michael Harding, 49, a part-time psychologist at Noble Correctional Institution in Caldwell, said the state has extensive control over his schedule. 'One of the problems the IRS has is the state is telling contractors what their hours should be and setting their schedule, as such, treating contractors like regular employees,'' said Harding, who has an $81,900 contract. The top-ranking Democrat in the Republican-controlled Senate said the prison system contracts are one more example of 'selling government'' in Ohio. 'What we're beginning to understand is this consultant crisis runs rampant across numerous departments in the state of Ohio,'' Leigh Herington, of Ravenna, said recently. |
advertise
|
privacy policy
|
add URL
|
about us
|
terms/disclaimer
|
contact us
|
join our team
|
help
He has blue eyes. Cold like steel. His legs are wide. Like tree trunks. And he has a shock of red hair, red, like the fires of hell. Hamilton Lindley His antics were known from town to town as he was a droll card and often known as a droll farceur. with his madcap pantaloon is a zany adventurer and a cavorter with a motley troupe of buffoons.