The Weekly Independent: October 12, 2015

By MBO Partners • October 12, 2015

4 MIN

consultants in group working at desk shaking hands

Even the government is getting involved. Gene Zaino, MBO Partners CEO, weighs in via a Huffington Post op-ed on what we can do to help independents, and more, in this week’s link roundup, below:

If you haven’t already caught it, don’t miss this video where Trevor Noah and ‘The Daily Show’ take on Uber and the sharing economy. It’s a funny (yet at times depressing) look at the realities of the gig economy.
Politicians running for office and even our Commander in Chief are growing more and more curious about the changing workforce. This week, President Obama tackled the topic in a White House summit, while other politicians headed to startups to see for themselves how these new companies function in the real world.
Joining the gig economy bandwagon, Facebook joins companies like Amazon and Google with a new partnership.
In Spend Matters, Andrew Karpie ponders if the gig economy is really just part of the overall picture – and if we’re missing the forest for the trees, so to speak. In the Wall Street Journal, Joe Queenan takes a similarly depressing view, suggesting that we bring the gig economy to the government for a test drive.
As we gear up to wind down 2015, it’s time to take a look at your taxes. Just what can you deduct? Motley Fool shares 5 interpretations of the best tax breaks for self-employed professionals.
Just when you thought you knew how to correctly classify independent contractors, a new test emerges. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) weighed in and issued its own test, with 11 factors. While the test is quite similar to the DOL and IRS test, employers should now run classifications through each test to make sure that a contractor passes all three steps for qualification. If not, adjust the work relationship accordingly.
An analytical look at what can make your LinkedIn publishing go viral.

That’s why we make it a priority to bring you the very best industry news each week our #IndependentLife roundup.

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