I run into this all the time. The theory is the same anywhere. When you hire a self employed person, freelance, or whatever you want to call it... you're not paying for some guy to work for that period of time... you're paying a "business" to supply a service. When people hire me here in the U.S., (I hate giving hourly rates.. but sometimes have to), I often have to explain this concept. Same for everyone from plumbers to lawyers. The business (even if it is one person) has overhead, business costs, taxes, etc. etc. etc... the list is endless, not to mention as the other poster pointed out... down time (time you can't bill for). These things have to be paid for, and the person has to earn a little money at the end of it. Do you really think your auto mechanic is putting $70 per hour into his pocket??? Not even close.