Re: Employment/Unemployment SS card and Drivers Lic.
There's a big difference in being employed, unemployed and receiving royalties from a publisher.
For one thing, the writer is NOT an employee of that publishing company, but receive payment on goods sold by such company.
When an agreement is reached between publisher/agent and author, the author signs a W-9. What is a W-9? This form is used for the purposes of reporting royalties paid to that person by the publisher to the IRS (only if the monies received is more or at least $600.00) if the royalties are less than $600.00, then the publisher is not required by the IRS to send the author an 1099-M, but should publisher choose to send author the 1099-M on any amount of royalty the author received from sale of books, then the author is required by law to report that amount on their year end tax filing.
Authors are not even contract employees of the publisher. Contract employees are contracted with such a company for a specific job description. The emlpyer then makes a copy of the contracted employee's drivers lic, and SS card for their record. The contracted employee fills out the correct form and turns in to the company, which in turn the company furnishes a copy to the IRS at the end of the year showing the company is not responsible for paying taxes on the hours the contracted employee has earned money on from their work with the company.
A contracted employee sets their own hours, works at their own pace, then turns in a worksheet to the company for payment of those hours and any other expenses agreeded to before hand to be reimbursed by said company. The contracted employee then is required by law to pay ALL income taxes on money earned. This means: Fed Taxes; State Taxes; FICA as well as HI. When paying the last two (FICA and HI Insurance) the contracted must pay the deductable amount, then match that deduction on both since he is self-employed via way of a contracted employee.
Not one person who has a book published through Publish America is an employee with PA, not even are they a contracted employee of that company, therefore they should NEVER send in a copy of the SS card nor a copy of their drivers lic.
If I were asked by PA to do this, I would demand they show me proof of the law that requires me to do so, since I am neither an employee of theirs nor am I a contracted employee of PA.
When I worked in the public field, this was my job, knowing the laws that governs employers/employees and keeping up with the laws that governs them. Many of those laws has be adjusted since then, but not this law.
Violet