People are usually on a payroll as either an employee or contractor (slightly different tax treatment, with the contractor being less favorable to the worker).

People are usually on a payroll as either an employee or contractor (slightly different tax treatment, with the contractor being less favorable to the worker). I have heard of instances where people form a company and work under that, but in my experience it tends to be abusive workplaces that go that route. If you're working in the US there's no legal way to avoid getting taxed. They aren't going to tax your existing assets outside the US though. There's no wealth tax.