Wayne's World
NTA - Homepage |
Talk to Wayne |
Join NTA
Wayne's World
NTA - Homepage |
Talk to Wayne |
Join NTAWritten by Wayne Schooling
View 2003 Articles | View 2004 Articles | View 2005 Articles
Q: I heard that the State of Texas has now gotten involved in drug testing. Can you tell me more about what that is all about?
A: Effective September 1, 2003 all motor carriers in the State of Texas will be required to notify the Texas Department of Public Safety of any positive drug tests for their commercial vehicle drivers. In addition to the reporting requirements in Section 11 of the law, Section 9 requires all motor carriers registered in the State of Texas to certify to the Department of Public Safety that they are in compliance with the FMCSA CFR Part 382 drug testing regulations.
The Life of an Independent Contractor and Insurance
An independent contractor is a person who contracts to perform services for others without having the legal status of an employee. Most people who qualify as independent contractors follow their own trade, business or profession – that is they are in business for themselves. This is why they are called “ independent” contractors. They earn their livelihoods from their own independent businesses instead of depending upon an employer to earn a living.
Good example of independent contractors are professionals with their own business such as doctors, lawyers, dentists, accountants and sole proprietors in trucking who are in reality a motor carrier owners.
Now the “employment classification” issue of a driver, who leases to an interstate motor carrier, is an employee or an independent contractor is a complex on and subject to extensive litigation, study, and discussion. This complexity cause many issues related to insurance coverage to arise as well as how insurance coverage may affect the ability of independent contractors to survive in their independent business enterprises.
When you are a independent contractor, you are own boss, with all the risks and rewards that follow. Most independent contractors bask in the freedom that comes from being in business for themselves. They would doubtless agree with the following sentiment expressed by on guy that I know; “ I can choose how, when and where to work, for as much or as little time as I want. In short, I enjoy working for myself.”
Independent contractors are the masters of their economic fate. The amount of money you make is directly related to the quantity and quality of their work. This is not necessarily the case for employees. Independent contractors don’t have to ask their bosses for a raise, they go out and find more work.
You can often earn more as an independent contractor than as an employee in someone else’s business. For example, a driver in a trucking company decided to become an independent contractor when he learned that the company billed out his trips at $500 while only paying him $350 per trip. He now charges $450 a trip and makes a far better living than he ever did as an employee.
Most motor carriers now days use only independent contractors because they do not have to pay half of the independent contractors Social Security taxes, pay unemployment compensation taxes, provide workers’ compensation coverage or employee benefits like health insurance.
Being an independent contractor also provides you with many tax benefits that employees don’t have. For example, no federal or state taxes are withheld. This means you can hold on to your hard-earned money longer without having to turn it over to the IRS right away.
Even more important, you can take advantage of many business-related tax deductions ( would you believe there are over 276 legal deductions allowable) that are limited or not available at all for employees. When you are an independent contractor, you can deduct from your income tax any necessary expenses related to your business so long as they are reasonable in amount and ordinarily incurred by businesses of your type.
If there is a single predominant reason for the failure of independent contractors to be successful businesspersons, it is their inability to survive a business interruption. For some inexplicable reason, most independent contractors consider themselves invincible. While they generally maintain proper truck insurance to cover the public and damage to their trucks, few consider, and many ignore, the consequences which may occur if they become ill or incapacitated whether it be on a short term or long term basis.
Since the independent contractors are involved in a business in which they, as sole proprietors, are subject to high incidences of stress, injuries and other problems, they are subject to a complete shutdown of cash flow and have little, if any, savings to survive their inability to drive for a minimum time period. One of the first risks to be analyzed and protected against is injury or death from an occupational accident.
The traditional insurance of workers’ compensation is not available to independent contractors as business owners by law. Therefore, the only alternative is an occupational accident policy in the independent contractor’s name so it follows him from motor carrier to motor carrier. This type of insurance has essentially grown in popularity, as it generally is less costly than work comp coverage.
When it comes to any type of medical expenses, most independent contractors miss the boat. Most only deduct that amount which exceeds 7 ½% over their adjusted gross income. After all, this has been drilled into our heads from the beginning of time. This means that they usually lose anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000 every year.
Today, an independent contractor not only needs insurance that covers him while he or she is working but also while he or she is not working. We have just introduced a NEW medical plan, which anyone can have with no medical questions asked, at extremely reasonable prices.
I have saved the best for last because this only applies to people in business. What if I told you that there is a way you can legally deduct 100% of just about every medically related item you can think of, medical insurance, occupational accident insurance even supplement insurance such as disability and cancer insurance.
It’s called a Section 105 Medical reimbursement plan setup through NTA. You can find out more by talking to one of our sales people at our new office located at 2525 Cherry Ave in Signal Hill, CA.
The NorthAmerican Transportation Association is a nationwide association established to provide services, benefits and information to Private Fleets, Trucking Companies and Owner-Operators. We are the only association that provides our members with more FREE services and benefits than any other. For more information or details call (562) 279-0557 or 800 805-0040 or you can e-mail me at wayne@ntassoc.com Remember, tell those who doubt your profession, " If you've got it ….A TRUCKER BROUGHT IT ! Until next month, " Drive Safely - Drive Smart! "
View 2003 Articles | Search 2003 Articles --- View 2004 Articles | Search 2004 Articles
Wayne Schooling
www.NTAssoc.com - Homepage |
Contact Wayne at NTA |
Join NTA