I didn't follow the article closely, but I assume the author's alluding to resetting the accounting/tax/depreciable basis of the assets with an arm's length sal

I didn't follow the article closely, but I assume the author's alluding to resetting the accounting/tax/depreciable basis of the assets with an arm's length sale. There is a tax concept using "leased employees" where you pre-pay for a vendor to work on-site, and it counts as an asset on the balance sheet. I don't think that applies to independent contractors. Sub-contractors are popular because 1. They don't count in key performance metrics like revenues/employee or liabilities (paid vacation) 2. Their costs are buried further down the income statement and appear as non-recurring/variable. 3. They can ramp up/down with less approvals.