Policy Note: Taxation of Workers in the Gig Economy: A European Perspective

Abstract

Progressive digitalization accelerated by the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is leading to the emergence of new employment models across Europe and beyond, including the so-called gig economy, sharing economy or crowd work. When applying existing laws to modern employment forms, it is often unclear as to how they fit into the existing legal framework and which regulations are applicable. Countries are trying to keep pace with how workers in the gig economy should be treated. Some countries are seeking to introduce new rules to deal with these new practices, whilst others are relying on court or regulators’ decisions to increase certainty. Not surprisingly, there is no standard approach, although there are some common themes. This article aims to raise awareness of existing risks from an employment, social security and tax law perspective relating to gig workers and online platform providers in the six largest economies in Europe - the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, France and Spain. It also provides some guidance about how to manage such risks and ensure compliance. The analysis concludes with a short comparison of the current status of legal developments in the six countries and a request to policy makers to take action. Gig economy, sharing economy, crowd work, online platform, gig worker, employment status, personal service company (PSC), misclassification, deemed employment relationship, independent contractor.