Sources Sought Notice SoW.docx

Sources Sought Notice Sources Sought Number # 75N98022R00001

Contracting Office Address Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Office of Acquisitions, OLAO, OA, 6701 Rockledge Drive., Rm 538G, Bethesda, MD 20892.

Introduction This is a notice issued on behalf of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Division of International Services, Office of Research Services (ORS) by the Office of Logistics and Acquisition Operations (OLAO), Office of Acquisitions, NIH, DHHS, UNITED STATES. This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this Sources Sought is to seek the availability and capability of small business concerns, including 8(a) small business and/or small qualified small business concerns [including Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB), Woman-owned Small Businesses (WOSB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Small Businesses, Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSB) and Service-Disabled Veteran-owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB] that are interested in and capable of performing the work described in the statement of work. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under NAICS code 541213 with a size standard of $22.0 million should not submit a response to this notice.

Background The National Institutes of Health, Office of Acquisitions, OLAO, OA is seeking small businesses with the ability to provide the full range of services needed and original approaches for providing nonresident income tax and tax treaty advice and guidance services for non-resident visiting foreign scientists at the National Institutes of Health. It is intended that the resulting contract vehicle will be a cost-reimbursement type contract. Please review the draft SOW attached.

Project Requirements

1. See attached Statement of Work.

Capability Statement Small business concerns that believe they possess the capabilities necessary to undertake this work should submit complete documentation of their capabilities to the Contracting Officer. The capabilities statement must specifically address each project requirement separately. Additionally, the capability statement should include 1)Name and address of the vendor, 2) Size and type of business, 3) Point of contract with the name, title, phone, fax, and email, 4) DUNS number, 5) the professional qualifications of experts, and technical personnel as it relates to the above outlined requirements, 6) a description of general and specific facilities and equipment available, including computer equipment and software, 7) an outline of previous projects that are similar to the project requirements (at least three) in which the organization and proposed personnel have participated to include contract/order number, short description, dollar value, name, and the phone number/email address of the Contracting Officer/Buyer and Customer. , and 8) any other information considered relevant to this program. 9) Provide answers to the following five questions: “Nonresident and Treaty Scenarios for Prospective Bidders to Answer”:

a) How do you define the “reasonable and necessary period” under the tax treaty with China, article 20(b)? What effect would a change from F-1 to J-1 have? Would the extension as a J-1 beyond 5 years extend this “reasonable and necessary” treaty period further under the NIH G-7 J-1 Exchange Visitor Program?

b) Why would or wouldn’t the Turkish Tax treaty, article 20, apply to those receiving fellowship income from the NIH?

c) When would foreign nationals have to file IRS form 8843?

d) Describe who needs to file a “sailing permit” and the purpose of the permit.

e) How do resident aliens claim tax treaties?

The capability statement must not exceed 5 pages. Interested small business organizations are required to identify their size standards in accordance with the Small Business Administration. The government requests that no proprietary or confidential business data be submitted in a response to this notice. However, responses that indicate the information therein is proprietary will be properly safeguarded for Government use only. Capability statements must include the name and telephone numbers of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with Government representatives. Capability statements in response to this market survey that do not provide sufficient information for evaluation will be considered non-responsive. When submitting this information, please reference the solicitation notice number.

Point of Contact:

Terita Stevenson, Contracting Officer, OLAO, Simplified Acquisition Branch, Phone (301) 402-3727.

Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Health, Office of Acquisition, Office of Logistics and Acquisition Operations, OLAO, 6701 Rockledge Drive., Rm 538G, Bethesda, MD 20892. UNITED STATES Submission Instructions:

Interested parties shall submit capability statements via email to Terita Stevenson @ stevenst@od.nih.gov. Due Friday, November 19, 2021 @ 12:00 noon EST.

Statement of Work:

Independently, and not as an agent of the Government, the contractor shall furnish all the necessary services, qualified personnel, materials, equipment, software, and facilities not otherwise provided by the Government, as needed to provide nonresident income tax and tax treaty advice and guidance services for non-resident visiting foreign scientists at the National Institutes of Health.

Background The Division of International Services (DIS)/Program and Employee Services (PES)/Office of Research Services (ORS) at the National Institutes of Health is soliciting proposals for Nonresident Income Tax Advice and Assistance for the NIH Visiting Program. The base period of performance is twelve (12) months, with four additional (12) month options. The anticipated effective date of award is January 1, 2022.

This acquisition is in support of the Division of International Services. The mission of the Division of International Services (DIS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is to provide the highest level of professional guidance and immigration-related services to the NIH intramural community, and to the visiting foreign scientists. DIS also ensures that the NIH maintains compliance with all applicable U.S. immigration laws governing and/or regulating their stay in the United States as set forth by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Labor, and other government agencies pertaining to our foreign researchers, scholars, and other staff.

All Visiting Program participants are required to pay U.S. income taxes, unless they are exempted by an income tax treaty between the United States and their country of residence (for tax purposes). Although the tax assessment differs according to stipend/salary level (higher levels are taxed at higher rates), Visiting Program participants can expect to have at least 14 percent of their stipend/salary withheld for federal income tax. All participants, including those exempted from federal taxes, are required to file and possibly pay state income taxes to their state(s) of residence unless the individual is exempted under a tax treaty, recognized by the state(s) of residency (notably, the state of Maryland DOES NOT recognize foreign tax treaties). While in the United States, all foreign nationals must fulfill their tax obligations.

Professional, expert advice on U.S. income taxation matters concerning non-resident international scientists at NIH is available on a limited basis, through a DIS contractor, Office of Research Services, at no cost to the individual. Those for whom the service is offered includes NIH Visiting Program participants, Visiting Fellows, Visiting Scientists (foreign FTEs), Guest Researchers, Special Volunteers, Professional Services Contractors and other nonimmigrant scientists at NIH in an official capacity. Specialized knowledge on nonresident taxation and treaty information that pertains to fellowship income can be inconsistently available in the general community, so providing this information to those who are not familiar with U.S. taxation rules, especially rules different than the domestic population, is an important service to Visiting Program participants.

This contract will be for nonresident income tax and tax treaty guidance services for Visiting Program participants at the National Institutes of Health.

Work to Be Performed

· Present one (1) two-hour tax orientation bi-monthly for newly arrived foreign scientists in Bethesda for a total of six (6) per year commencing in February 2022.

· Provide general, introductory information about U.S. and state tax obligations applicable to nonresident foreign nationals at the NIH, discussing who is a resident and nonresident for tax purposes

· Provide an overview of how to complete Maryland 502-D or similar forms for estimated quarterly payments of state taxes

· Remote access to workshops will be offered

· Question and answer session must be included

· Contractor shall take attendance in the form of a list of names of attendees and provide this list to the Project Officer

· Contractor shall distribute, assure completion of, and collect evaluation forms provided by and returned to the Project Officer

· Contractor shall advise Project Officer of changes to dates and times of seminars at least two weeks in advance

· In unforeseen situations such as extreme illness or power outages, the Contractor shall contact the Project Officer as early as possible to advise of rescheduling

· Annually prepare, revise and update as necessary the existing “Income Tax Handbook for Visiting Foreign Scientists at the National Institutes of Health”

· Handbook should be sectioned to address tax issues of different categories of foreign scientists at the NIH

· Visiting Fellows/grant recipients

· Full-time employees (FTEs)

· Professional Services Contractors

· Special Volunteers/Guest Researchers/Exchange Scientists

· Shall include an explanation of necessary/relevant Federal and MD, DC, VA, MT, NC, and AZ state tax forms and provide samples of completed MD 502D Personal Declaration of Estimated Tax forms

· One sample shall specifically address how short-term visitors reimbursed for per diem and travel expenses should file a tax return

· Shall include information on filing the 8843 for those who do not earn U.S. Source income

· Shall include Sailing Permit information for those departing the U.S. and possibly eligible for part year residence status.

· Initial delivery shall be prior to February 20, 2022

· Necessary revisions for rules and forms pertaining to the 2021 filing year shall occur prior to January 31, 2022

· Draft copy shall be provided to Project Officer for review prior to final production

· 508 compliant electronic version shall be provided to Project Officer for placement on the DIS web page

· All questions will be filtered through the Project Officer or the backup Project Officer.

· Provide expert opinion to the DIS Project Officer on the applicability of foreign income tax treaties to determine whether the NIH should or should not withhold federal taxes from fellowship income and/or wage recipients

· Update DIS when tax treaties change

· Conduct a review of the specific language in the treaty articles to determine whether stipend income or wages from a governmental organization are included

· As necessary, provide DIS Project Officer and DIS Staff with written guidance on latest changes in U.S. Tax Code, tax treaties (including copies), eligibility for tax treaty withholding, and any other tax-related issue affecting foreign scientists

· Where tax treaty issues are involved, guidance should take into account that NIH must be protected from under withholding

· Must address implementation issues along with tax opinions

· Provide up to 20 hours per year of consultation to ORS/DIS on tax issues raised by DIS staff

· Will also include tax queries that the Project Officer receives from DIS staff and forwards to the contractor

· Will evaluate treaty eligibility based on the treaty questionnaire, created by the Contractor, for unique treaty eligibility questions.

· Will assist in updating the treaty questionnaire annually to capture information needed.

· Contractor shall provide annual tax return guidance to the nonresident program participants.

· Two (2) 2.5-hour Nonresident Tax Preparation Workshops within the month proceeding April 15th

· Conducted remotely and focusing on federal taxation and general issues to consider when filing state taxes

· Specific emphasis on preparation of Federal and State income tax forms in advance of the required IRS filing deadline

· Includes examples for appropriate completion of federal and/or state tax forms, and with information about viable tax software programs for nonresident taxpayers

· Tax Preparation Guide draft shall include tax treaty examples for nonresident and resident taxpayers earning both fellowship and wage income.

· Tax preparation Guide non-treaty examples only for nonresident taxpayers

· Tax Preparation Guide information on transitioning from nonresident to resident taxpayer with part-year resident examples

· Question and answer session must be included Reporting Requirements

· Monthly written report of services including:

· Detailed invoice

· Names and number of attendees at workshops or seminars

· Completed evaluation forms Period of Performance

The period of performance of this contract shall include a Base Year, plus 4 Option Years. The estimated start date of the performance is January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2027 Deliverables Satisfactory performance of the final contract shall be deemed to occur upon performance of the work described and upon delivery and acceptance by the duly authorized representative, of the following items/services in accordance with the stated delivery schedule:

Prior to February 28, 2022

DELIVERY POINT

Documents may be delivered electronically through SEFT for larger file size or personally identifiable information and may otherwise be sent by e-mail for smaller or non-sensitive information.

Any physical mail deliveries can be sent to:

National Institutes of Health Building 31, Room B2B07, MSC 2028 Bethesda, Maryland 20892 Unless otherwise specified, deliveries shall be made to the Delivery Point specified above Mondays through Fridays (excluding Federal Holidays) between the hours of 8:30 am and 4:30 pm ET only. Supplies or services scheduled for delivery on a Saturday, Sunday or Federal holiday shall be made the following business day.

CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE

The following Contracting Officer(s) Representative will represent the Government for the purpose of this contract:

Cynthia Tasaki The Project Officer is responsible for: (1) monitoring the Contractor’s technical progress, including the surveillance and assessment of performance and recommending to the Contracting Officer changes in requirements; (2) interpreting the statement of work and any other technical performance requirements; (3) performing technical evaluation as required; (4) performing technical inspections and acceptances required by this contract; and (5) assisting in the resolution of technical problems encountered during performance.

The Contracting Officer is the only person with authority to act as agent of the Government under this contract. Only the Contracting Officer has authority to: (1) direct or negotiate any changes in the statement of work; (2) modify or extend the period of performance; (3) change the delivery schedule; (4) authorize reimbursement to the Contractor any costs incurred during the performance of this contract; or (5) otherwise change any terms and conditions of this contract.

The Government may unilaterally change its Project Officer designation.

KEY PERSONNEL

The personnel specified in this contract are considered to be essential to the work to be performed hereunder. Prior to diverting any of the specified individuals to other programs, the Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer reasonably in advance and shall submit justification (including proposed substitutions) in sufficient detail to permit evaluation of the impact on the program. No diversion shall be made by the Contractor without the written consent of the Contracting Officer; provided, that the Contracting Officer may ratify in writing such diversion and such ratification shall constitute the consent of the Contracting Officer required by this article. The contract may be amended from time to time during the course of the contract to either add or delete personnel, as appropriate.

The individual substituting must have equal experience to the primary key personnel. A supervised substitute should have sufficient proficiencies in nonresident taxation and tax treaty issues.

The following individuals are considered to be essential to the work being performed hereunder:

NAME TITLE

[To be specified prior to award]