Friday, September 4, 2009

Teetering on the fence of cheating on your taxes?? Think twice about which side you fall on.

You may have heard your neighbors or “favorite” relative boast, “I’ve not paid taxes in years!” or “All you have to do is ‘X’ to reduce your taxes.” and you get frustrated. You’ve been paying your fair share for years and wonder, “How do they get away with this? Doesn’t the state do anything about it?” Rest assured. We do care and we’ve stepped up our enforcement efforts thanks to recent legislation.

As part of recent multi-agency efforts, investigators involved in enforcing tax and employment laws are spending more time in the field looking for violations… violations of employment tax law, labor laws, income tax laws, and licensing and insurance laws. We are very interested in leveling the playing field for those employers who follow the rules.

The cost of violating the law goes beyond underbidding their competitors by the amount of taxes not paid. When, for example, a business pays its employee ‘under the table’ the employee suffers, the potential client suffers, and the violator suffers.

The employee suffers because protections he or she is entitled to in various forms aren’t provided. For example:

  • If the employee becomes unemployed, they might be otherwise eligible for unemployment benefits,
  • If the employee is injured on the job, workers’ compensation insurance would otherwise be available to them while they recover,
  • Income tax withholding is paid as income is earned so the employee can avoid a big tax bill at year’s end,
  • A safe work environment, and
  • Standards in wage and hour laws.

The potential client also suffers because the violator puts the client at risk for legal responsibility if the worker is injured or dies on the client’s property. The client, by being willing to pay the “lower” price, is unwittingly exposing themselves to significant risk by using a business that misclassifies its employees and pays ‘under the table.’

And, when we catch the business that is misclassifying its employees, the business suffers because they have additional penalties and interest and potentially significant fines charged to them for failure to comply with the laws of the state.

Help us help you. Share with us people you know are paying ‘under the table’ and underbidding you on jobs. Email our Tip Line at ic.info@state.or.us or you can call us at 503-945-8095.