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from the get-to-refile-four-years-of-state-and-federal-taxes,-too dept.
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
New Jersey is the latest state to say Uber's drivers should be classified as employees rather than independent contractors. The state's labor department said that because of this misclassification, the ride-hailing company owes it roughly $650 million in unemployment taxes and disability insurance, according to Bloomberg Law.
The labor department reportedly has been trying to get unpaid employment taxes from Uber going back as far as 2015, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg Law. It said the company owed the state $523 million in overdue taxes along with another $119 million in interest and penalties for the last four years. Uber disputes these findings.
"We are challenging this preliminary but incorrect determination," an Uber spokesman said in an email. "Because drivers are independent contractors in New Jersey and elsewhere."
Driver classification is an issue that government regulators have been taking a closer look at over the past year. California passed a law in September that could require Uber and other on-demand companies to reclassify their drivers as employees instead of independent contractors. The law is set to go into effect Jan. 1. New York, Oregon and Washington state have considered similar legislation.
(Score: 1, Disagree) by Captival on Friday November 15 2019, @11:46PM (5 children)
Hmmm, I'm a greedy entrenched city bureaucrat. If I arbitrarily declare A, I get 650 million dollars. If I declare B, I get nothing. What do you know!?!? It turned out to be A!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 16 2019, @12:47AM (4 children)
You really are a greedy selfish bureaucrat, let me fix that for you:
See, that money doesn't go to you, or at least its not supposed to, this is New Jersey ...
(Score: 0, Redundant) by khallow on Saturday November 16 2019, @03:04AM (2 children)
That's one way it can go wrong. There are examples (see here [soylentnews.org]) of private businesses find crime for a city and getting commissions on every fine they get through the courts. The people pushing this $650 million windfall through may see part of it, either directly or through some sort of bonus system.
(Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Sunday November 17 2019, @12:32AM (1 child)
SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday November 17 2019, @05:11AM
Are you in favor of doubling the fine? Asset forfeiture? I can assure you that if you create a market in such things, you'll get parties with a strong incentive to increase the punishments so they can increase the cut of the fines they receive.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Captival on Sunday November 17 2019, @12:39AM
How naive do you really have to be to believe that? Having declared this, the politicians are now going to be paid visits by Uber's lobbying firm. They're going to be VERY generous with donating to their reelection campaigns. The politicians will also be getting visited by the taxicab unions and lobbies, who also will be gifting lots of support in the other direction. If the rule clears and the state does get the money, the labor department just made some big friends in powerful positions in state govt, and are going to be very well rewarded for it, usually through a big budget increase and lots more unelected appointees. But don't worry, they make the laws so it's all perfectly legal.