Originally Posted by
WilcoRoger
This W9 is a Yank thing only, I guess, isn't it?
Yes, it is. You provide your relevant information, in particular your social security number or Tax ID if you're a business. They use that info to send you a tax notice at the end of the year of how much you earned, and that is also reported to the Internal Revenue Service, to whom you ultimately file and pay your federal taxes.