Pros And Cons Of Uber: Becoming A Business Owner

Prior to Uber the traditional cab system forced people to access taxis by hailing them on the street or by booking well in advance. Uber comes into being, and seeks to match tech savvy passengers to drivers. Also, it provides options and varieties in transportation services. Even if the user does not know his or her location, Uber platform has the capability to track a user’s GPS coordinates and within minutes, an Uber driver will arrive. Uber is not a transportation service but an information sharing technology. At its core, Uber emphasizes that it does not own any vehicles, but rather merely relies on its network of independent drivers to provide services to customers. Thus being an Uber driver is a way of becoming a business owner and

Independent contractors are responsible for their own taxes, which means more money for drivers because it allows them to take advantage of a number of tax deductions. When deciding on deduction method, drivers can only choose between the standard mileage deduction method or actual expense method but not both. In addition to either of the two methods, driver may also deduct common operating or driving expenses. These expenses may include all the money spent that is directly related to driving, mobile phone cost and car washes. Drivers can deduct a good number of operating expenses when it comes to tax time as long as those expenses are considered “ordinary and necessary” under the tax

For instance, in 2015 California’s labor commissioner ruled in favor of a plaintive - Barbara Berwick, a San Francisco Uber driver, and awarded her $4,152 in reimbursement for millage and tolls for driving just from July to September in 2014. But multiply that settlement by the 160,000 Uber drivers in California and the rest of United States many of whom drive year round. That means hundreds of millions of dollars coming out from Uber’s operating income every year which certainly not