When contractors fail to pay proper employment taxes because they pay workers under the table and misclassify employees:
- Workers lose pay, benefits and opportunities for safe, decent jobs for their families.
- Taxpayers and our communities lose billions of dollars in public funds.
- Contractors who abide by the law and pay taxes lose work to those who don’t.
More than $8.4 BILLION A YEAR in state and federal income taxes, unemployment insurance contributions, and Social Security and Medicare taxes is lost to construction-industry employer tax fraud. In addition, ILLEGAL employment practices in the construction industry have forced 39% of construction worker families to rely on social safety net programs to make ends meet — at a cost of $28 billion a year. Simply put, taxpayers are subsidizing contractors’ abuse of the workforce.
If you are a state legislator, YOU HAVE THE POWER to stop this exploitation and theft.
Read more research into the problem of construction-industry tax fraud in the white paper here. And please reach out to partner with us if you would like to be part of the solution. Contact us at rhalford@ssmrc4070.org or 855-577-7672.