Same in the UK as well. There are a load of rules, IR35, designed to prevent this sort of thing but they are pretty easy to bypass, and the only real benefit I'

Same in the UK as well. There are a load of rules, IR35, designed to prevent this sort of thing but they are pretty easy to bypass, and the only real benefit I've seen is accountants can now charge £300+ for a contract "review" to check you are covered. As an example of how easy it is, a friend of mine is contracting long term for the government. In order to ensure he is covered and classed as a contractor, over his summer holidays he will be sub-contracting out to someone else.