Elance.com charges a monthly fee to place an ad on their site in order for freelancers (like me) to find work. This is a common and reasonable business practice that pre-dates the internet (newspapers and trade magazines, for example). However, Elance also wants 6% of your wages! This is tantamount to a tax and I don't know how they legally get away with it! I've worked for staffing agencies in the past and if they take a percentage of your income, then they act as your employer and they withhold taxes for you, give you paid holidays, and in some cases, discounts on medical insurance as well. But all Elance does is host a website that allows you advertise (which you pay for, monthly), PLUS they want 6% of your gross earnings! I hope the justice department looks into this (it sounds like the electronic equivalent of indentured servitude). If there's nothing illegal about it, I hope that people aren't foolish enough to just hand over their income to these clowns for doing essentially nothing to earn it, except for allowing you to post an advertisement (which, as I pointed out previously, you already pay for separately on a monthly basis). Elance, shame on you for your greed!