[Myrddin]

Individuals work work on a 1099 basis generally have to pay income tax quarterly. The IRS won't get the tax twice. The only "double dipping" happens when an employee works for more than one employer on a W4/W2 basis. It is possible to overcollect the social security taxes because the employers don't coordinate the payroll. That gets worked out when taxes are filed and the total amounts collected are reconciled with the filing. The excess social security is refunded.

The IRS does collect 1099s. That's why it is critical to get them distributed on a timely basis to the employees working on a 1099 basis.

The IRS doesn't care about the paperwork associated with 1099 contractors. They do care about sole source employers trying to evade tax responsibilities by claiming the employees are contractors rather that employees with a sole employer.

[Western Phil]

My argument would be that the IRS should not care if you are an “independent contractor” or employee since they get the tax money anyway - either from the individual “independent contractors” or the employer. I realize that they are inforcing the “law”, but in my opinion the law is wrong. Their problem is that if each of the “independent contractors” is a tax cheat, they have a lot more collection actions to take.