Anyone Know About the Tax Implications of a Foreign Contractor?

[Dallas Waldon]

We hired an independent contractor from the Philippines through Upwork, but they withhold her payment for weeks and take a hefty percentage of her fee. We want to work around this by paying her directly, but I'm worried that the tax picture would become more complicated without a withholding company (which is what I'm assuming Upwork is). Has anyone hired out of the country? I want her to work more hours, but I also don't want the IRS to consider her an employee. Any thoughts? Thank you!!