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B-204215 1 (1981-12-28)

handle is hein.gao/gaobadjyu0001 and id is 1 raw text is: A .7 *Z I I /7 / 60 - 9 TH CrCM:MPT OLLWR OIUNWRAIk OF THE UNITED BTATIU WAUHINTON, 09,Co 20548 FILE: B-204215 PATE: December 28, 1981 MATTER i DIGEST; Statc, Bar Membership Fee An estate tax attorney with the Internal Revenue Service, who Is require by the terms of his eiwploywent to maintain bar membership in good standingr may not be reimbursed state bar membership fee re- quired of active me'bers, That the state requires certain civilian attorneys of the Federal Government to be active members, where those attorneys previously were permitted to maintain inactive bar *memberships and thus to avoid the fee asEssment, does not alter the fact that payment of the fee was a personal expense lncqrred by the attorney to qualify for his Governrrent employment, Reimbursement of the attorney is prohibited under pre- vious GAO decisions. Reimbursement is also expressly prohibited by 5 U.S.C. S 5946. An authorized certifying officer of the Internal Revenue Service has requested an advance decision regarding reimbursement of an annual fee paid by an employee to the Clients' Security Fund of the Bar of New Jersey, For the reasons indicated below, we conclude that the fee is not reimbursable. The e.mployee, Mr. David Cohen, is an estate tax attorney with the Internal Revenue Service. To qualify as an estate tax attorney with the Service, a person must be or become within 14 months of his br her employment a member in good standing of any state bar or of the bar of the District of Columbia. To fulfill this requirement, Mr. Cohen chose to be admitted to the New Jersey State Bar. New Jersey requires active merters of the bar to make an annual $50.00 payment to the bar's Clients' Security Fund. Mr. Cohen asserts that he draws no personal benefit from maintaining his active status in the New Jersey bar, since Internal Revenue Service attorneys are restricted to practicing law only for the Service. *Because maintaining bar membership is a condition to his continued employment, Mt. Cohen believes that all the benefits of his bar membership inure to the Government and that the Government, therefore, should rdimburse him the $50.00 annual fee. DECISION OF;

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