[cookiecaper]

I'm not sure what "perks" there are from being classified as a 1099 contractor from the contractor's POV. The government is generally interested in people being W2 because then the company is obligated to withhold taxes, which makes the government much more likely to be paid as opposed to relying on individuals to pay their "self-employment tax", i.e., the portion of payroll tax that the company would bear if the individual were classified as W2.

Since this simplifies the individual's tax paperwork and transfers some of that burden to the employer, this can frequently be framed as some kind of "fighting for the little guy" thing, but it's really just about the government getting paid more reliably.

[prepend]

There’s more tax flexibility as a 1099 freelancer and if you have previous work expenses for the year it can offset any income. For example, if you bought a $2k laptop to work with $2k of 1099 income can be offset by the purchase so you pay no state, federal, or payroll taxes. If you are w2 then you can only deduct the amount that exceeds 2% of annual gross income.

Typically w2 is better for the employee. But if you are planning to do a lot of work then getting a 1099 under your LLC or S or C Corp can work out better for a sole owner.