Difficult to Find Workers Willing to Pay Taxes

[XJ035]

We have a family day care the the California Bay Area and find it's very difficult to find a worker who go on the payroll and pay taxes. We pay $15 per hour but no one wants to lose their low income benefits. It's hard to blame them as the cost of living is so high. Is this a problem for others?
If we have to pay cash to get someone to work part time or when the regular worker is sick or on vacation is it possible to claim anything?

[Michael]

I live in California and it is expensive to live here. I understand that people don't want to give up their benefits but the reality is that this is the reason why we are all paying more. Their subsidy is to help them survive if they can't find work. In reality, they are taking advantage of those of us that have to pay the extra burden to live here. Its fraud, plain and simple.

[Blackcat31]

I’m not so sure it has anything to do with a high cost of living but more so with free.
Why work when you can get free?

The cost of living where I am is minimal in comparison to a California and there are many people here who turn down full time work or any jobs so they don’t lose their benefits.

Not all people collecting benefits feel this way but enough that finding reliable employees is very difficult.

I spent years looking for a teen willing to mow my lawn these last few summers and although my neighborhood is full of 12-15 yr olds they’d all rather do nothing (or play video games) verses earning some money.

One neighbor kid told me his mom gave him more $ to clean his room than I was offering and I know I offered a nice amount for 45 mins of work.

[TomCopeland]

Originally Posted by XJ035

We have a family day care the the California Bay Area and find it's very difficult to find a worker who go on the payroll and pay taxes. We pay $15 per hour but no one wants to lose their low income benefits. It's hard to blame them as the cost of living is so high. Is this a problem for others?
If we have to pay cash to get someone to work part time or when the regular worker is sick or on vacation is it possible to claim anything?

You can deduct any amount you pay someone to help you care for children, whether it's full or part time. However, you must pay payroll taxes even for part time workers.

[Mom2Two]

Originally Posted by Blackcat31

One neighbor kid told me his mom gave him more $ to clean his room than I was offering and I know I offered a nice amount for 45 mins of work.

That actually makes me want to cry. If people grow up and believe that it's normal to get paid for picking up after oneself, they are going to believe that life itself is unfair. Coz life does not truly work that way.

[Mom2Two]

Originally Posted by XJ035

We have a family day care the the California Bay Area and find it's very difficult to find a worker who go on the payroll and pay taxes. We pay $15 per hour but no one wants to lose their low income benefits. It's hard to blame them as the cost of living is so high. Is this a problem for others?
If we have to pay cash to get someone to work part time or when the regular worker is sick or on vacation is it possible to claim anything?

I find this hard to understand. What low income benefits would they lose for earning $15/hour even full-time? Would it be medicaid? But they would probably qualify for subsidized ACA even if your center didn't offer health insurance. I'm having a hard time figuring out what goverment benefit would make it worth it to not earn $15/hour. Maybe it's a high COL thing that I don't quite get.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Mom2Two

I find this hard to understand. What low income benefits would they lose for earning $15/hour even full-time?

Here in Ontario, Canada, it's called Ontario Works (used to be called welfare), or it could be someone on disability as well.

Want to find someone around my area for part time work? They want cash so they don't have to claim it, otherwise they get less assistance, and who wants to work for money when you can get it for free.

Michael is right. People taking advantage of assistance costs those making money. Most people on assistance need it, but many take advantage of it.

I have paid cash for the odd one time help in my reno business, but when I do, I can't put anything on my records. It comes out of my pocket. Sometimes it's worth it because I get a job done faster and that works out to more per hour for me. If I only need someone for one time help, it's also not worth the hassle of the records.

[lblanke]

Our state has no income tax but high sales tax. We have been solvent when others are hurting I think, in part, because all of the people working under the table have to pay their fair share of taxes when they buy anything. Some complain it is regressive, but there are SO MANY people here who work under the table, and the cost of living is quite low here.