[lazyasciiart]

But it isn't that straightforward, because your can have a 10x ninja developer who works whenever they want and picks their own projects, but is still an employee.

[tholmes]

That's not a problem. The point in the tax code is to prevent offloading the tax liability by classifying people who are rightfully employees as contractors instead.

I'm reasonably certain the tax code has no regulation that says you must be classed a contractor if you meet certain criteria.