Recruiters fear “ill-conceived” changes to the rules regarding off-payroll workers will have a negative effect on the industry and could place some agencies on the wrong side of the law.Chancellor Philip Hammond announced in his Autumn Statement that the responsibility for operating IR35 off-payroll working rules and paying the correct tax will shift to the body paying the worker's company, potentially the recruitment agency.The new rules mean that when a worker provides their services … [Read more...]
FCSA says HMRC’s online tool is ‘not fit for purpose’
A new online tax tool designed to offer reassurance over the rules regarding IR35 status is likely to cause more problems than it will solve, according to the Freelancer & Contractor Services Association (FCSA).HM Revenue & Customs has designed the tool to be used by contractors, agencies or hirers to provide a definitive document to prove that a contractor is working according to IR35 rules, assuming that the questions are answered honestly.But the trade association for umbrella … [Read more...]
Autumn Statement: Hammond heaps on more anti-contractor measures
Philip Hammond seemed to wrong-foot the entire contracting industry in his first Autumn Statement (AS) today, November 23rd 2016, by not stating “IR35” once, neither in his speech, nor in his full report.But at AS 4.11, entitled ‘off-payroll working rules,’ the Treasury confirms that it will shift the responsibility and liability for IR35 in the public sector from PSCs to the ‘paying agents’, from April.It means that an adviser to contractors was right to tell ContractorUK on the eve of … [Read more...]
IR35 research subjects make charges against HMRC
Participators of behind-closed-doors research into IR35 and employment status that HMRC commissioned have spoken out from the shadows, due to dissatisfaction with the department.Called to the Revenue’s offices to help it develop the IR35 digital tool, which is meant to be launched before April, an accountancy firm accused the tax staff it met of a worrying level of naivety.“They still look at assessing IR35 status by thinking everybody operates in exactly the same way,” the firm said, … [Read more...]
HMRC ‘unwilling to give any steer’ on IR35 changes
The taxman is “unwilling to give any steer” on his approach to April’s IR35 changes to the very parties who will be liable and responsible for those changes, an agency body alleges.This current reticence by HMRC to provide the parties with the “real detail” on how the new rules will work makes it probable that it won’t be released until next year, says APSCo.The agency body reached this conclusion after it held a meeting with the Revenue’s policy officers Neil Chattell and Julie De … [Read more...]
HMRC launches new employment status unit
Recruiters have been urged to review their practices to ensure individuals are not being misclassified as self-employed.The warning comes from employment lawyers after it emerged HM Revenues & Customs is launching a specialist unit to investigate firms suspected of withholding employment protection from workers, by using agency staff or calling them self-employed.The move was confirmed last week in a letter from financial secretary to the Treasury, Jane Ellison, to Labour MP Frank … [Read more...]
Why the future’s not bright for IR35 advice
Caring whether their adviser soon gets stuck between a rock and a hard place isn’t the job of a contractor.But new legislative proposals may mean the upshot of this predicament for advisers is a reluctance for them to assist temporary workers with tax and IR35 advice.This is the realistic prospect of a tabled piece of tax legislation that threatens to drive divisions between adviser (the professional who gives you guidance on IR35, for example) and client (you, the contractor).In the … [Read more...]
Call to axe recent tax reforms amid Brexit
Proposed and recently introduced tax rules in the contractor sector should be axed or amended in light of Friday’s EU referendum result, experts are warning. Chris Bryce, chief executive of IPSE, says negotiating a withdrawal from the EU is not the time for Britain to change how its public sector operates IR35, a controversial tax legislation, as it plans to do from April.“[Because] we are renegotiating our exit,” Mr Bryce said, “the government’s proposed changes to IR35 should now be … [Read more...]
Most limited company contractors to end up within IR35 rules
Barring exceptional cases, contractors working for the public sector through their own limited companies are now likely to be subject to a long-standing but controversial tax regime aimed at tackling tax avoidance, say employment tax experts.This is due to proposed changes around the tax regime known as IR35. The proposed new rules, announced last month in Budget 2016, are designed to crack down on the use of limited companies, also known as personal service companies (PSCs). Contractors … [Read more...]