Should Uber drivers be considered employees for South African income tax purposes?

Orientation: Uber is a leader in the gig economy both internationally and in South Africa. One of the key elements of Uber’s business model is that drivers operate as independent contractors rather than employees. Whilst this may reduce costs, it may also negatively affect tax collection. Research...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Mariam Hussein, Shaun Parsons, Riyaan Mabutha, Magdel Zietsman
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	AOSIS 2021
Materias:	employee employees’ tax gig economy independent contractor taxation uber Economics as a science HB71-74
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/f00027da90e549389b5fb8e69568a314
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:f00027da90e549389b5fb8e69568a314
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:f00027da90e549389b5fb8e69568a3142021-11-24T07:41:17ZShould Uber drivers be considered employees for South African income tax purposes?1995-70762312-280310.4102/jef.v14i1.685https://doaj.org/article/f00027da90e549389b5fb8e69568a3142021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://jefjournal.org.za/index.php/jef/article/view/685https://doaj.org/toc/1995-7076https://doaj.org/toc/2312-2803Orientation: Uber is a leader in the gig economy both internationally and in South Africa. One of the key elements of Uber’s business model is that drivers operate as independent contractors rather than employees. Whilst this may reduce costs, it may also negatively affect tax collection. Research purpose: This study considers whether Uber drivers should be classified as employees or independent contractors in South Africa for employees’ tax purposes. Motivation for the study: As the gig economy expands, uncertainty exists as to how traditional approaches to taxation apply and the extent to which they remain appropriate to new business models that have non-traditional relationships with their participants. This is evident by the extent of disputes arising internationally, and particularly in the United States of America (USA), where Uber was founded. Research approach/design and method: This study engages in comparative legal research to determine the extent to which attempts to resolve this question in the USA may inform the South African context. Main findings: The lack of consistent classification outcomes in the USA suggests that it may be difficult to reach a conclusive classification of Uber drivers in South Africa for employees’ tax purposes using the current tests. Whilst these tests may be adapted, this study supports calls for rethinking the link between tax collection and traditional employment relationships. Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to the development and interpretation of South African tax legislation in the context of new technologies and business models, and provides recommendations for rethinking the approach to tax collection in these contexts.Mariam HusseinShaun ParsonsRiyaan MabuthaMagdel ZietsmanAOSISarticleemployeeemployees’ taxgig economyindependent contractortaxationuberEconomics as a scienceHB71-74ENJournal of Economic and Financial Sciences, Vol 14, Iss 1, Pp e1-e12 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	employee employees’ tax gig economy independent contractor taxation uber Economics as a science HB71-74
spellingShingle	employee employees’ tax gig economy independent contractor taxation uber Economics as a science HB71-74 Mariam Hussein Shaun Parsons Riyaan Mabutha Magdel Zietsman Should Uber drivers be considered employees for South African income tax purposes?
description	Orientation: Uber is a leader in the gig economy both internationally and in South Africa. One of the key elements of Uber’s business model is that drivers operate as independent contractors rather than employees. Whilst this may reduce costs, it may also negatively affect tax collection. Research purpose: This study considers whether Uber drivers should be classified as employees or independent contractors in South Africa for employees’ tax purposes. Motivation for the study: As the gig economy expands, uncertainty exists as to how traditional approaches to taxation apply and the extent to which they remain appropriate to new business models that have non-traditional relationships with their participants. This is evident by the extent of disputes arising internationally, and particularly in the United States of America (USA), where Uber was founded. Research approach/design and method: This study engages in comparative legal research to determine the extent to which attempts to resolve this question in the USA may inform the South African context. Main findings: The lack of consistent classification outcomes in the USA suggests that it may be difficult to reach a conclusive classification of Uber drivers in South Africa for employees’ tax purposes using the current tests. Whilst these tests may be adapted, this study supports calls for rethinking the link between tax collection and traditional employment relationships. Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to the development and interpretation of South African tax legislation in the context of new technologies and business models, and provides recommendations for rethinking the approach to tax collection in these contexts.
format	article
author	Mariam Hussein Shaun Parsons Riyaan Mabutha Magdel Zietsman
author_facet	Mariam Hussein Shaun Parsons Riyaan Mabutha Magdel Zietsman
author_sort	Mariam Hussein
title	Should Uber drivers be considered employees for South African income tax purposes?
title_short	Should Uber drivers be considered employees for South African income tax purposes?
title_full	Should Uber drivers be considered employees for South African income tax purposes?
title_fullStr	Should Uber drivers be considered employees for South African income tax purposes?
title_full_unstemmed	Should Uber drivers be considered employees for South African income tax purposes?
title_sort	should uber drivers be considered employees for south african income tax purposes?
publisher	AOSIS
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/f00027da90e549389b5fb8e69568a314
work_keys_str_mv	AT mariamhussein shoulduberdriversbeconsideredemployeesforsouthafricanincometaxpurposes AT shaunparsons shoulduberdriversbeconsideredemployeesforsouthafricanincometaxpurposes AT riyaanmabutha shoulduberdriversbeconsideredemployeesforsouthafricanincometaxpurposes AT magdelzietsman shoulduberdriversbeconsideredemployeesforsouthafricanincometaxpurposes
_version_	1718415892538195968

Should Uber drivers be considered employees for South African income tax purposes?

Ejemplares similares