> The problem is that they don't contribute nearly as much to the system and they're in very precarious situations: no contribution to retirement, no paid vacations, no parental leave, no unemployment benefits, &c.

All of this is applicable to contract work in general, not just gig work. Why not fix it for all contractors rather than only gig workers?

Because some people are genuinely contractors while others are disguised employees.

I also don't see the inherent problem with contractors, some jobs require it, some people want the flexibility. The issue with "gig workers" is that a lot of them end up with all the disadvantage of being employe, all the disadvantage of being contractors, and none of the benefits of either.

But "no contribution to retirement, no paid vacations, no parental leave, no unemployment benefits, &c." seem like pretty big concerns for most workers. I don't see how they evaporate for non-gig contract workers.

Non-gig contract workers charge more and so are expected to pay that all by themselves. Often they do not, but usually they are at level where they should be able to do it.

That is why prices for lot of work is so expensive.

> Non-gig contract workers charge more and so are expected to pay that all by themselves. Often they do not, but usually they are at level where they should be able to do it.

Sounds like we should levy that as a tax on all contract workers rather than only reclassifying certain types of contractors.

Or set minimum billable rate. Which the companies employing gig workers would need to meet. Kinda like minimum wage, but higher as they are not giving benefits or paying employer fees and taxes.

That still doesn't make sense from a fairness perspective. Why should should contract workers get to opt out of all the taxes that employees are subject to?

Ya agreed, I would think taxing gig work to compensate for those things is a better solution. IE, you pay 7 euros an hour, on the backend you pay the government 7 euros to cover health care, pension, etc.

This seems like a tracking problem and easier to tax it at the source by the company... as if a gig worker has 10 clients and sporadic work, they are not able to manage the complexity, nor should they have too.

Kinda like taxing HFT, you tax it and then comp society for the danger it creates.