I'm not talking about paying people under the table. I'm talking about cutting out whatever agencies or referral services are adding a substantial portion of the overall cost.
> The middleman being the IRS?
Only to the extent the money may get taxed 2-3 times on its way to the actual person doing the work (which may or may not be the case in any particular instance). (For instance, sales tax and multiple levels of income taxes.)
I agree with the general point though: That we should tax land more, and labour less.
Because taxing labour creates the kinds of inefficiencies where I need to work for two hours to afford somebody else to work for one hour.