[carlosjobim]

> In my European country, for example, having a regular source of revenue [1] requires registering with the government as an independent contractor, which costs a bit less than 400€/month.

I apologize, but I actually can't believe that. Maybe you have misinterpreted some regulation or base it on hearsay? If that is truly the case, then your main goal right now should be to escape to a free country as soon as you can.

Either way, some paid OSS work can't count as regular income. But if the place where you live is like what you told, the taxman is probably gonna come and get you, to milk some money no matter if you followed the rules or not.

[j1elo]

I made a 100€ mistake in there. I misremembered the amount to be 365€, but it actually was 265€ when I worked as such, some years ago. Fares and benefits have been slowly rising over time, and seems that now the rate is 294€ [1].

There is a lot of contention between organizations of self-employed people and the government. Of course, paying that amount regardless of actual profits seems crazy. On the other hand, it goes to pay the public healthcare services which allows things like spending whatever amount of time needed for treatment in a hospital and not pay a single dime for it. All a matter of pros and cons.

[1]: https://www.healthplanspain.com/blog/expat-tips/1762-self-em...

> minimum monthly social security payment for the self-employed currently around 294 euros per month