Our Top 5 Key Learnings
On Thursday, May 28, 2015 in Toronto, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce hosted a first-of-its-kind forum, The Sharing Economy: Implications for Ontario in partnership with PWC Canada and CGI. The forum provided attendees with the opportunity to connect with decision-makers from all levels of government and the biggest players in the sharing economy sector. Here is a list of five key takeaways from the forum:
1. The sharing economy (made up of companies like Uber and Airbnb) is growing at a rapid rate. The sector is expected to reach global revenues of $335 billion by 2025.
2. The growth of the sharing economy presents major challenges for regulators. Among the most frequently cited are concerns around consumer protection, fairness for existing industry, and ensuring tax compliance in the sharing economy.
3. The sharing economy is contributing to a fundamental shift in the very nature and scale of work. By 2020, more than 40% of the American workforce, or 60 million people, will be freelancers, contractors and/or temp workers.
4. Freelance workers in the sharing economy are sometimes unaware of their tax obligations. According to experts, government and sharing economy companies could do a better job at providing sharing economy freelance workers with information on their tax obligations to ensure compliance.
5. Some governments are actively encouraging activity in the sharing economy. For example, the UK allows employees to use sharing economy solutions to book accommodation and transport when travelling on official business.
Stay tuned for the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s follow-up report on the sharing economy later this summer. For more information, or to get involved in our research process, please contact Andrea Holmes.
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