Posted by Liz Greene
The GAO recently published a new report on worker classification, and here it is in full text for you: GAO-09-717 Employee Misclassification: Improved Coordination, Outreach, and Targeting Could Better Ensure Detection and Prevention.
At 74 pages this is a significant document, and GAO collected stakeholder feedback on the pros and cons of various approaches for addressing the issue of employee misclassification. It seems that the leadership of DOL, OSHA, and IRS agree with the recommendations made by GAO, and moreover this report is evidence that there is energy and activity toward reform of independent contractor classification and compliance. The congressional requesters were Senators Kennedy (may he rest in peace) and Durbin, and Representatives Woolsey and Andrews, all past and present collaborators in contractor reform. This bodes well for H.R. 3408 or something similar to make progress in Congress over the next several months.
One snippet that stood out to me: only 3% of completed SS-8 determinations found that the worker in question was truly an independent contractor (page 21).
Another fun statistic: IRS's Small Business / Self-Employed division assed over $64 million in misclassification related taxes and penalties for fiscal year 2008 (page 20).Enjoy the report, and please use the comments field below to leave your thoughts and feedback about employee misclassification, independent contractor reform, and tax compliance. If you have questions about IC Classification there is more info throughout our website -- try the search field at the top of the screen.
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