Ride Share. Sharing Economy. Regulatory trend: Employees or Independent Contractors

A California regulator ruled certain ride share drivers to be employees for wage claim purposes and it has regulators, policy makers, attorneys and investors in overdrive.

Investors keep investing in the companies. The Recorder    Bloomberg

Regulators & policymakers go both ways.   Hillary Clinton is said to be using the independent contractor stance as a campaign issue. TechCrunch  Jeb Bush is hailing a ride share vehicle to arrive at a speaking engagement with tech cred. SF Weekly Politico

Lawyers. Conservative lawyers lean toward employees to avoid the hefty sanctions. Aggressive Lawyers will say, let’s stick with Independent Contractors until we’re told otherwise, but note hefty sanctions are possible.  The Recorder

Local Gov. Trend: Transportation Funding

Seattle has a transportation funding crisis. The mayor has called for $930 million in additional funding. 

Two City Council members tried to counter the straight $930mllion levy on property taxes with a funding plan that included:

  • $600 M levy on property taxes
  • with a employee hours tax and a commercial parking tax

The move failed, but the creativity in the funding structure should be appreciated.

KUOW.ORG Seattle

Elon Musk. Self Driving Cars. Regulations. Sun Valley.

Elon Musk talked regulations concerning self-driving cars at Herb Allen’s Sun Valley thinkfest. An attendee said, ” “What it must be to have a brain that works like that.”

What do Elon Musk, self driving cars, and regulations have to do with Texas?

Elon Musk made his first foray into policy this session with Tesla dealership issues. Now he’s thinking regulations for self-driving cars. Texas has no laws on self-driving cars. All together now, this means OPPORTUNITIES- contracts, picthes, thinking to entice Musk’s brain, oh, my.

Deadline Hollywood

Fund Transportation by Taxing Business Income Kept in Foreign Lands

Trying to find a solution for transportation funding, bipartisan U.S. Senators seek to tax foreign assets.

“Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) and Rob Portman (R., Ohio), co-chairmen of a Senate Finance Committee working group on overhauling the international tax system, would impose a one-time tax on profits that multinational companies have stashed overseas at a rate lower than the current 35% U.S. corporate tax rate, according to a summary of its major provisions.”

WallStreet Journal

Transportation Special Session Brings Ride-Share Bills

California Legislature is in special session for transportation related issues. In this mix, is a new ride share bill that would exempt drivers for services such as Uber, Lyft and Sidecar from having to register their personal cars as commercial vehicles.

The bill is in repsonse to regulatory action by California DMV that suggested every ride share vehicle (a vehicle transporting paying customers) needs commercial license plates.

 

California AB828     The Recorder

 

6 Republican Governors Broke No New tax Pledge for Transportation

With federal transportation funding overhauled stalled, many states this year raised taxes for transportation including:

  • Georgia (Republican Gov.)
  • Idaho (Republican Gov.)
  • Iowa (Republican Gov.)
  • Kentucky 
  •  Nebraska
  • North Carolina (Republican Gov.)
  • South Dakota (Republican Gov.)
  •  Utah (Republican Gov.)

What coalitions supported these tax increases? The peope trying to get to work.

  • business community
  •  the transportation industry
  • ordinary taxpayers
  • + a report on unsafe bridges by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association

Governing

Self Driving Cars Come to Texas No Government Approval Necessary

After self-driving car regulations failed to pass during the regular legislative session, Google brings self-driving cars to Austin. 

No legislation, means no permission necessary for self-driving cars. Google’s cars will have 2 back up human drivers in them at all times and weill be seen in and around Austin.

Texas Tribune