Then according to your previous claims, you don't have a weekly maid... "I know the law well. A weekly maid is an independant "contracter".
From the IRS: Workers who are not your employees If only the worker can control how the work is done, the worker is not your employee but is self-employed. A self-employed worker usually provides his or her own tools and offers services to the general public in an independent business. A worker who performs child care services for you in his or her home generally is not your employee. If an agency provides the worker and controls what work is done and how it is done, the worker is not your employee. Example You made an agreement with John Peters to care for your lawn. John runs a lawn care business and offers his services to the general public. He provides his own tools and supplies, and he hires and pays any helpers he needs. Neither John nor his helpers are your household employees.
Maids, then who are self employed, bring all their own cleaning equipment. They can come and go as they please, as they are contracted for a job, not for time/work under supervision of an employer. You would not be their employer, you would not have any direct control over them, you could only complain to the service you contracted with. If you are providing cleaning equipment, directions of what to clean and when to clean and where to clean, power to fire them...they are employees. If you are paying a service, then the service employs the maids or contracts them, and if the maids are acting fully independently in your home, bringing their own cleaning supplies, cleaning what they want, when they want, setting their own unsupervised hours....they are subcontractors to the maid service, and you are paying a maid contractor...
Thank you Your explaination wasn't any better, just a personal story which doesn't prove anything. The death tax is the fairest tax of all. If they would repeal all the income taxes and just tax you after you die it would be great. You'd get to enjoy all your income and profits while alive and then when you don't need any income, when your dead, then the tax collectors could get their share.
Exactly. I gladly "reimburse" for supplies but do no purchasing myself. (as if I'd have a clue as to what they use) Obviously I go to the extra trouble of creating a "Chinese wall" for a reason. I don't care about payroll taxes. An extra 8% contribution by me is transparent to my finances. What I don't want is the responsibility of "screening" folks based on visa's ect. I have to admit I know little about immigration laws so I'd rather pay a premium in exchange for transferred liability.
So if you were knowingly paying a service that was both hiring illegals, and avoiding paying payroll tax that wouldn't bother you. Another example of a republiklan patriot.... Part of the problem, not part of the solution....
Doesn't bother me a bit...... Those who oppose immigrant labor are generally racist, anti-justice and regressive. Why should someone born in Haiti have less access to the U.S. labor market than someone born in Atlanta? Because of borders promoting economic aparthied? American stock holders and consumers have zero morality over profits and products generated by the exploitation of third world labor and resources but God-forbid the third world knocks at our own front door.
ZZZs and past, Don't get into name calling. Actually, I was enjoying the exchange on maids as independent contractor or employee debate. It affects a lot of us, so it is good to know the details. We end up using Merry Maids type of service on an as needed basis, just because we want to avoid the book keeping work. A premium is paid compared to someone you can hire based on a friend or family member's recommendation. As for employing illegals for doing any kind of work including building repairs, maid service etc., it is really very difficult to distinguish between illegals and legal workers. You always request the contractor only to allow legal workers, but you can't possibly go around checking the status of every worker working on your property. Sometimes they work when you are not there, for example lawn mowing. After Katrina, there has been a flood of Spanish speaking workers in the New Orleans area. They have been the backbone of all repair work being done. I am sure there are a lot of illegal people but then you are asked to make a very difficult choice. The insurance company requests that you submit a few bids from contractors who want to do the repair work. Usually, the ones employing illegals (I am assuming here) are cheaper. The bids vary in the term of 10s of thousands. Now you see the dilemma. In my opinion, these workers, legal or illegal, work their tails off. I think they deserve a fair wage and respect for their work.