16 April, 2019
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – The New England Regional Council of Carpenters and its local chapters will host a series of events in tandem the April 15th national tax deadline. Rallys, demonstrations, forums, and press conferences will illuminate the rampant tax fraud in the construction industry and impacts at the local, state, and national level. Each year labor brokers and contractors cheat their tax obligations by misclassifying their hires and paying an estimated 1.2 million workers ‘off the books,’ robbing taxpayers of up to $2.6 billion through lost federal income, employment taxes, and state income taxes.
These dishonest tactics deprive city, state, and federal budgets of tax dollars and ethical businesses the chance to fairly compete for work. Local neighborhoods lose funds necessary for school improvements, infrastructure maintenance, veteran assistance, and capacity for first responders.
When employers engage in tax fraud, workers can't collect unemployment when a job finishes and they get laid off. When they get hurt, all of the medical costs get paid by the worker and/or the taxpayers, instead of workers comp insurance. They miss out on years of Social Security contributions. Sometimes, employers commit wage theft and refuse to pay or fully pay workers for their work. This not only impacts workers directly, but also indirectly impacts every other taxpayer, since it puts a greater burden on public services.
Events will educate the public on the magnitude of illegal construction employment practices in New England, discuss the effects on local towns, and call for a unified front against this insidious activity. Speakers will include tax fraud and wage theft victims and NERCC, state, and local leaders fighting against these issues.
New England’s event series will take place from April 11 until April 23rd. For a list of specific event times and locations, please see below. Additional events will be held by other regional councils of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.Together these groups will work to elevate the conversation around construction industry tax fraud and the associated costs to American taxpayers and their communities.
Interested attendees can find more information on these events at the NERCC Website (http://nercc.org/doa) and RSVPs are encouraged through theNERCC Facebook. For more information on Construction Industry Tax Fraud, visit the UBC’s site, Standing Up to Tax Fraud.
