Ethical/logistical dilemma

kluge
Wed, 02 Aug 2006 21:57:15 +0000

I’ll give you the same advice I’d give a paying client (including the employer in this case) - do it by the book. If the other guy isn’t doing it by the book, do your part by the book. That means, in your case, filing a tax return next April declaring the income and paying the self-employment tax yourself. (There probably won’t be a regular income tax liability.)

There are a lot of good reasons for doing so. What many people don’t realize is that the employer is actually taking on a huge risk by hiring people “under the table.” If they are injured on the job, he is responsible, just as if he had worker’s comp. But since they.re not on the policy, he’s personally liable. And he doesn’t get the advantage of worker’s comp liability limits. Ouch. (Just in case any of you are thinking about hiring people “off the books” Don’t do it!)

But Zoos - your daughter should be OK treating this like an independent contractor gig (which it isn’t) for tax purposes, and listing it as a job on all of her college documentation. The key is - you guys do what you’re supposed to do. Tends to be pretty good advice in most situations. I don’t think anything more drastic than that is necessary. But I’d advise getting a different job next year.