the problem is that most people who want to be classified as independent contractors want to be so classified because they want to spend their pre-tax income on

the problem is that most people who want to be classified as independent contractors want to be so classified because they want to spend their pre-tax income on business expenses; for example, the first years that prgmr.com existed, I worked as an independent contractor and spent most of my earnings on servers. If I had been reclassified as an employee, I would have had to pay taxes on that money before spending it on servers.