On March 23, 2016 in Raleigh, NC CXC Global America’s JP Gooch, Global Director of Client and Partner Solutions presented at the Bloomberg BNA Conference “Hot Issues in International Taxation”.
Covering an array of topics that we are all faced with in today’s digital world, JP shared statistics that capture some of these macro trends that are occurring right now. He says “We have all of these trends – a ubiquitous, mobile internet, increasingly led by a new generation, growing in power, who desire to work from anywhere, for whom they want, when they want, supported by global platform companies connecting buyers and sellers instantaneously regardless of geography.”
One of the key topics covered by JP was a looming court case that that has the potential to slow this global change. In June, the class action case of O’Connor vs Uber will be heard by a jury in a California courtroom to determine if drivers should have been classified as employees or should remain as independent contractors. The result of this decision will have global implications and will help shape how governments everywhere view the relationship between labor in the on-demand economy and the platform companies themselves. The case is scheduled to begin June 20, 2016. Unicorns everywhere will be watching.
Some of the other topics covered by JP were:
Internet users surpassed 3 Billion. We are still on a hockey stick growth for this one. It will double again in just five years.
Number of Smartphones will surpass 2 Billion. This is another one that will double quickly. Mobile internet is more common than land lines in most emerging economies due to lack of infrastructure. Hoping that technology will stop Rickshaw drivers in India from texting while driving and killing any unsuspecting cows.
Millennials have overtaken Boomers in size. Sources vary, but the US Census Bureau reported Millennials (between ages 18 to 34 in 2015) represent approximately 75.3 million of us while the Baby Boomers (ages 51 to 69) total 74.9 million. This is a generation who grew up technology savvy and are changing what work-life balance means.
42 Million US Workers are 1099 (contract) employees. That represents 34% of the population and is expected to grow to steadily in the years to come with some predicting that as many as 65 Million of us will be working on a contract basis by 2020.
176 Platform Companies worth $4.3 Trillion. Platform companies are those sharing economy apps that match riders to drivers (Uber), buyers to sellers (Amazon), Contractors to Employers (UpWork) across multiple industries all over the world. There are certainly more than 176 of these companies but the statistic comes from some excellent research done by The Center for Global Enterprise, which you can find here: bit.ly/CGEStudy
63% of Platform Companies were founded outside the US. Most are in Asia (82) BUT North America has over 72 percent of the value compared to 22 percent for Asia. So while our Asian counterparts are bigger in numbers, we are creating more revenue.
JP Gooch specializes in supporting companies’ global growth and managing risk through employment compliance. He writes on global expansion, contractor vs employee classification issues and the on-demand economy.
Follow JP @JPGooch11 @CXCGlobal_USA or click here to connect on linked-in.
