Contractors won’t see negative interest rates, but will benefit from a ‘mortgage war’
Contractors are unlikely to see negative interest rates, but are benefitting from a pre-election ‘mortgage war’ between lenders desperate to meet lending targets ahead of the election. This is according to mortgages expert Taj Kang of CMME, who explains that now is the time for contractors to take action over mortgages: “What we are seeing is lenders fiercely competing with record-low fixed-interest offers to meet their internal lending targets ahead of the General Election. Contractors have an unprecedented opportunity to pick up fantastic long-term low interest deals.” More...
Tech skills shortages suggest now is a great time for permies to go contracting
Contractors with technical skills, including IT, engineering and construction, are in short supply, so now is perfect time for employees with the relevant skills to choose contracting. The latest Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) JobsOutlook confirms that nearly a quarter of contractor clients have identified the technical and engineering sectors as areas where they expect to see a shortage of workers this year. The proportion of temporary workers, including contractors, who are earning more than they would have been had they been permanent employees is also increasing. This is another incentive for employees to switch to contracting. More...
Demand for finance and media contractors leads 4.4% increase in contract numbers
Contract vacancies grew by 4.4% year-on-year during March 2015, and this growth in contract roles is being led by increases in the number of finance and accounting contracts (1.5%) and sharp increases in media and marketing (9%) led by a surge in hiring for digital. The latest data from the Association of Professional Staffing Organisations (APSCo) also shows that the growth of permanent roles saw a slight dip as a result of uncertainty over the election. More...
Finance and IT contractors to benefit from financial sector investment
Finance and IT contractors look set to benefit from falling headcounts and increased IT investment UK financial sector. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Financial Services Survey shows that employment in the sector has fallen for the second consecutive quarter. This will inevitably lead to an increase in contractor hiring as financial institutions hire contingent workers to handle capacity issues. A surge in IT investment will help underwrite more IT contracts. More...
The war on disguised employment is over, as HMRC’s IR35 case capacity is only 250
HMRC’s IR35 enquiries capacity is only 250 cases at any one time according to the IR35 Forum Minutes from the 11 February 2015 meeting. This means the taxman’s war on disguised employment is effectively over. “The campaign to stop disguised employment has ended. That four HMRC specialist teams with around 40 staff can only manage 250 concurrent IR35 enquiries proves that IR35 is effectively unenforceable,” highlights ContractorCalculator CEO Dave Chaplin. More...
Contractor prospects improve in the UK manufacturing sector
Contractors targeting manufacturing sector clients prospects have improved for another month as activity in the sector reached an eight-month high. According to the Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for March 2015, the sector has experienced 24 consecutive months of growth. Hiring in the sector also increased, generating fresh contracts and jobs, and growth in output was at its fastest pace in nine month. More...
OTS publishes list of recommendations, including its review of IR35
The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has published a complete list of all of its reviews and recommendations to simplify the UK’s tax system since it was created in 2010. The nine simplification reviews included several that affected contractors, including the Tax Reliefs and Small Business interim report that included a review of IR35. A total of 402 formal recommendations have been made of 118 have been fully implemented. More...
Cautious optimism for contractors who work with retail sector clients
Contractors who work with retail sector clients have cautious cause for optimism following the results of the latest Confederation of British Industry (CBI) monthly Distributive Trades survey. After sales ground to a halt in February, “volumes grew solidly” during March 2015, and the survey suggests they will continue to grow during April. “Sales have recovered following a tough month in February for retailers, and we expect solid growth to continue through Easter,” notes Rain Newton-Smith, CBI Director for Economics. ““The outlook ahead is looking bright, with household incomes buoyed by zero inflation and improving pay packets, which will continue to encourage spending.” More...
Contractors unlikely to be affected by 1 April tax changes announced by HMRC
Contractors are unlikely to be affected by the raft of tax measures that are being introduced on 1 April 2015, as most relate to large and specialist businesses or those with business premises. The only direct impact will be the increase in the VAT registration threshold to £82,000. Indirectly and over the medium to long term, however, contractors could benefit from North Sea oil and gas tax breaks and new tax reliefs for the creative sector. More...
Contractors can now access the full range of HMRC manuals via a single index
Contractors who prefer to handle their own tax affairs or who want to learn more about how their tax is managed can now access HMRC’s full range of manuals via a single index. The manuals are aimed at HMRC’s own staff and tax practitioners such as accountants, so are not introductory guides. HMRC also warns users: “Do not assume that the guidance is comprehensive or that it will provide a definitive answer in every case.” However, they can be useful when a contractor requires more detail about a particular aspect of tax that they are trying to understand. More...