A few people took note when the U.S. Internal Revenue Service ruled earlier this month that a former contractor whom we had worked with as part of our Second Life “greeters” program should be classified as an employee rather than an independent contractor. We were puzzled by the ruling, and promptly began a dual path of preparing the necessary paperwork based on the ruling and also seeking the advice of our counsel on the matter. Our counsel decided that given all the facts, we were correct in our original classification of these contractors.
We have always tried to treat our contractors well, doing our best to pay reasonable market rates, take care of the appropriate 1099 filings, and remain a friendly and professional company to work with. We shall see where this particular issue leads, but since this had become a public matter we thought that we would share our assessment of the situation:
It is the Company’s position that all “greeters” are independent contractors and are not employees of the Company. Greeters are free to (1) accept or reject assignments; (2) utilize substitutes; and (3) work for other companies, including competitors of the Company. Greeters use their own equipment and receive a Form 1099 from the Company.
译文:
IRS承包商税收规定
很少人注意到月初出台新规定，先前在我们生活中一直以数字人生“引领者”形象出现的美国国内税务承包商如今应被划入企业雇员的范畴，而不再是一位独立的承包商了。对这项规定，我们感到非常困惑，与此同时立即安排两手准备——准备规定所要求的必要的文件及向这方面的律师寻求帮助。我们的律师表示，就目前的现实状况来看，我们对承包商的分类还是正确的。
我们一向公平对待承包商，尽我们所能地支付合理的市场利率，管理着相应的1099档案，我们公司一向保持友好的态度，具备专业的素质。我们应该注意这项特殊事件会有怎样的发展，但由于事件具有社会影响力，我想我们应该分享一下对当下情况的评估：
公司的立场是，所有的引领者都应当是独立的承包商，而非公司雇员。引领着可自由（1）接受或拒绝指派的任务；（2）借助替代品（3）为其他公司提供服务，包括本公司的竞争者。引领者使用自己的装备，接受公司的1099报税表格。