When a letter from the City of Los Angeles arrived in September, Chelsie Rivera thought it was a mistake.

"I was very confused," Rivera said. "I didn't really understand what it was."

Rivera said she received a notice saying she might have to file as a business and demanded records of her earnings tied to a job at the nonprofit art gallery Junior High , which is actually in Glendale.

"Because the team is so small, they don't pay out their employees with a W-2. They pay them out with a 1099," Rivera explained. "The letter came asking for my records from 2022 to 2023."

She's not alone.

If you're a gig worker, independent contractor or anybody who gets a 1099, you may have gotten a letter in the mail from the City of Los Angeles saying you owe a business tax. Many people have taken to

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