Following examination of the IR35 Forum’s minutes from their last meeting, it has been claimed that the rules introduced for Public Sector workers will be extended to Private Sector workers as early as April 2019.
This warning comes in spite of the issues and concerns that have arisen following the imposition of the Public Sector rules last year. The Forum’s stakeholders and members have been very vocal in expressing their views and highlighting that any assessment of the effectiveness of last year’s reforms is premature.
There is now a very real concern that the consultation period, announced by the Chancellor in his November 2017 Budget, will merely be a formality and that the overriding aim of HMRC will be to address an “immediate Exchequer risk” and will simply seek to ensure more money flows into the Government coffers.
HMRC has not commented on the claims other than:
“It’s for HM Treasury ministers to decide on any timing.
“In the Budget, the government announced that it will consult in 2018 on improving compliance with the intermediaries legislation (commonly known as IR35) for engagements in the private sector.
“We have no further announcement on when that consultation will be.
“The legislation ensures individuals who effectively work as employees are taxed as employees, even if they choose to structure their work through a company.”
Richard Prudence, Regional Director at ePayMe, understands that H M Treasury is planning to issue a consultation document shortly which will hopefully provide a good deal more clarification.