March 25 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Obama administration in a dispute over taxes on severance compensation, issuing a decision that may block more than $1 billion in refund claims.

The justices today unanimously rejected a $1 million refund bid by Quality Stores Inc., once the country’s largest agricultural specialty retailer. The high court said severance payments the company made to 3,100 people were subject to tax under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act.

The issue grew in importance in recent years with the layoffs that have accompanied the economic slowdown. The administration has been fighting more than 2,400 refund claims.

Continue Reading for Free

Register and gain access to:

  • Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.