Article: GAO backs withholding regs for independent contractors. (Government Accounting Office recommends changes in regulations to promote greater compliance in tax collection; includes related article)

WASHINGTON -- Congress should consider requiring employers to withhold taxes on payments to independent contractors to head off a possible epidemic of income underreporting by these individuals, the General Accounting Office said.

The GAO also called for improved information reporting on payments to self-employed individuals, including a new system where employers would be required to inform the Internal Revenue Service of payments to incorporated independent contractors and to those receiving less than $600 a year in payments.

Although more rigorous information reporting rules and mandatory tax withholding would increase "the burdens on independent ...

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