Billing cooperatives for self-employed workers: myths and truths about these companies
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 3:59 am
One of the main problems that certain professionals may encounter when working on their own is having to comply with all the legal procedures and requirements. Registering for economic activities with the Treasury , with Social Security as self-employed, etc.
In an attempt to facilitate all these procedures, billing cooperatives for self-employed workers emerged some time ago , companies that promised to make things easier for these professionals .
The problem is that their activity does not comply with the criteria of the Tax Agency, which is why they have recently begun to carry out inspections of these companies and australia phone number for whatsapp also of their partners. Because in this case, if a breach is detected, the sanctions apply both to the cooperative and to each of its members who have invoiced through it.
What are billing cooperative societies for self-employed workers?
Billing cooperatives for self-employed workers are sold as a way of simplifying the procedures that professionals who want to carry out an economic activity on their own have to go through. The cooperative member pays an initial fee . Then, when they have to carry out a job, it is the cooperative that is responsible for billing its clients.
On paper, billing cooperatives for self-employed workers were a simple solution, but the reality has turned out to be something else . Tweet it!
The professional receives a salary , as an employee, for the days he has worked for said client. In exchange, the cooperative keeps a previously agreed percentage of the billing and pays the taxes corresponding to said invoice. In addition to all the paperwork, the self-employed person saves having to register with the RETA .
How they work
It works in a simple way. The professional who joins only pays the initial fee and a commission for each job he invoices. Afterwards, 2% is deducted from the salary he receives, as personal income tax, in addition to the Social Security fee, which is generally the full amount, both for the company and the employee, for the days he has been registered while carrying out the work.
The cooperative issues an invoice to the client on behalf of the self-employed person. The cooperative is responsible for settling the VAT , as well as the corresponding Corporate Tax . For tax purposes, the professional has saved a large amount of paperwork, but also fiscally his taxation is greatly simplified , since it would be equivalent to having a second payer, the self-employed cooperative of which he is a member.
What is the legality of self-employed cooperatives?
The cooperative is nothing more than a commercial company formed by people who freely associate to carry out a business activity that is covered by the Law on Cooperatives (Law 27/1999 of July 16). In addition to providing coverage for billing, legal advice and other types of services are also provided to cooperative members.
The problem is that the Tax Agency considers it to be fraud , since the working partners are self-employed professionals dedicated to any activity, who act in commercial traffic, so they find themselves in the need to issue invoices to their clients and, correlatively, comply with tax obligations and in the RETA.
Myths and realities
The truth is that for those who carry out economic activity sporadically, it is possible to invoice without being registered as self-employed. In addition, unemployment benefits cannot be capitalized if you want to set up your own company.
With the arrival of the flat rate for self-employed workers, it has been made easier for those who start their activity and do not have a guaranteed income to register. It is also easier for those who carry out work sporadically, although in this second case, if the criterion of regularity is applied and the minimum wage is not reached, it would not be essential to register with the RETA, and it could be invoiced anyway.
In an attempt to facilitate all these procedures, billing cooperatives for self-employed workers emerged some time ago , companies that promised to make things easier for these professionals .
The problem is that their activity does not comply with the criteria of the Tax Agency, which is why they have recently begun to carry out inspections of these companies and australia phone number for whatsapp also of their partners. Because in this case, if a breach is detected, the sanctions apply both to the cooperative and to each of its members who have invoiced through it.
What are billing cooperative societies for self-employed workers?
Billing cooperatives for self-employed workers are sold as a way of simplifying the procedures that professionals who want to carry out an economic activity on their own have to go through. The cooperative member pays an initial fee . Then, when they have to carry out a job, it is the cooperative that is responsible for billing its clients.
On paper, billing cooperatives for self-employed workers were a simple solution, but the reality has turned out to be something else . Tweet it!
The professional receives a salary , as an employee, for the days he has worked for said client. In exchange, the cooperative keeps a previously agreed percentage of the billing and pays the taxes corresponding to said invoice. In addition to all the paperwork, the self-employed person saves having to register with the RETA .
How they work
It works in a simple way. The professional who joins only pays the initial fee and a commission for each job he invoices. Afterwards, 2% is deducted from the salary he receives, as personal income tax, in addition to the Social Security fee, which is generally the full amount, both for the company and the employee, for the days he has been registered while carrying out the work.
The cooperative issues an invoice to the client on behalf of the self-employed person. The cooperative is responsible for settling the VAT , as well as the corresponding Corporate Tax . For tax purposes, the professional has saved a large amount of paperwork, but also fiscally his taxation is greatly simplified , since it would be equivalent to having a second payer, the self-employed cooperative of which he is a member.
What is the legality of self-employed cooperatives?
The cooperative is nothing more than a commercial company formed by people who freely associate to carry out a business activity that is covered by the Law on Cooperatives (Law 27/1999 of July 16). In addition to providing coverage for billing, legal advice and other types of services are also provided to cooperative members.
The problem is that the Tax Agency considers it to be fraud , since the working partners are self-employed professionals dedicated to any activity, who act in commercial traffic, so they find themselves in the need to issue invoices to their clients and, correlatively, comply with tax obligations and in the RETA.
Myths and realities
The truth is that for those who carry out economic activity sporadically, it is possible to invoice without being registered as self-employed. In addition, unemployment benefits cannot be capitalized if you want to set up your own company.
With the arrival of the flat rate for self-employed workers, it has been made easier for those who start their activity and do not have a guaranteed income to register. It is also easier for those who carry out work sporadically, although in this second case, if the criterion of regularity is applied and the minimum wage is not reached, it would not be essential to register with the RETA, and it could be invoiced anyway.