HMRC’s estimates of IR35 costs and Exchequer risks deeply flawed
HMRC has published its estimates of IR35 compliance costs to contractors and the Exchequer risk if IR35 were to be abolished using deeply flawed assumptions that fail to take into account key factors. Estimating the Administrative Burden of IR35 and the cost of abolishing it maintains that £550m of tax revenue is at risk if IR35 were to be abolished based on incorrect assumptions that IR35 is what prevents highly paid employees from incorporating. Similarly, HMRC has ignored the time, consultancy and insurance costs of IR35 when calculating compliance costs. More...
Core contracting disciplines enjoy increased contract opportunities from economic growth
Engineering, construction, media and marketing contractors are benefitting from increasing contract opportunities as a result of accelerating economic growth and infrastructure investment. The latest Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC)/KPMG Report on Jobs shows that engineering and construction professionals are in increasingly short supply as infrastructure projects ramp up. In parallel, demand for media and marketing contractors is increasing as firms seek to take advantage of new business opportunities. More...
Contractors in the early stages of their career suffer tax rates approaching 50%
Employed contractors on the agency payroll or working via umbrellas and who are graduates and in the early stages of their career could be paying marginal tax rates of approaching 50%. A new one minute video by Seewhatyoumean shows how the basic 20% tax rate is far from being the complete picture. When National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and student loan repayments are added to the mix, that rate shoots up to 48.15%. And this does not include pension contributions. More...
Contractor tax avoidance scheme promoters face new HMRC disclosure rules
‘High-risk’ contractor tax avoidance scheme promoters are now subject to new HMRC rules that require them to tell potential contractor clients that HMRC is specifically monitoring their activities. OutLaw.com highlights that this should ensure that contractors tempted to join such schemes are fully aware of the risks. “Whilst this high risk promoter legislation applies to promoters, not taxpayers, it is really there to try to make the selling of tax avoidance 'schemes' more difficult in practice,” explains Pinsent Masons tax expert Jason Collins. “It is the tax equivalent of health warnings on cigarette packaging: it won't stop everyone but will put a lot of people off.” More...
French contract market offers small increase in work for contractors during January
The contract market in France offered a slight increase in available work for contractors during January 2015. Staffing Industry Analysts reports that: “The number of temporary workers in France increased by 0.6% in January 2015 compared with the same month last year.” Growth in industrial contractor demand led the field, whereas construction contractors experienced a sharp drop, with number of contingent workers in the sector falling by 8.9% year-on-year. More...
Female IT contractor numbers have increased over the last five years, says recruiter
The number of female IT contractors and employees has increased in more than half of UK businesses during the last five years. Computer Weekly’s Kayleigh Bateman reports on a survey by recruiter Robert Half that also shows that this grows to 67% of larger companies experiencing an increase. “The range of measures that businesses and government are taking to encourage more women into a technology career would appear to be paying off,” believes Robert Half Technology associate director Charlie Grubb. More...
Contractor advisers to be subject to new tax avoidance offence in 2015 Budget
Contractor accountants and tax advisers are likely to be subject to a new tax avoidance offence, the aiding and abetting of tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. Economia writes that accountancy firms are widely predicting that the new offence will be announced by the Chancellor George Osborne during his 2015 Budget on 18 March. “Given recent political and press focus, we can…expect the chancellor to announce a further crackdown by the government to tackle tax avoidance and evasion both harder and faster,” Baker Tilly’s head of professional practices group George Bull told Economia. More...
Contractor body calls for tax simplification and late payment sanctions in Budget demands
The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) has set out its Budget demands in advice of the General Election. Its first demand is for “A commitment to a long term simplification of the tax system, to reduce cost and complexity for the smallest businesses”, alongside “much tougher sanctions for those who pay late” and “a cut in corporation tax to make the UK more competitive”. “We believe the Budget provides an opportunity to finally tackle the UK’s complex tax system, and deliver much needed simplification for small businesses across the UK,” notes IPSE director of policy and external affairs Simon McVicker. More...
Oil and gas contractors need to look overseas for future sources of contracts
Oil and gas contractors must look outside of the UK to oil and gas provinces in other parts of the world for ongoing sources of lucrative contracts. This is according to Reuters market analyst John Kemp, who has published an analysis on Reuters suggesting that, apart from decommissioning, activity in the North Sea will decline as a result of market forces. “Over the last 50 years, Britain has developed world-class expertise in offshore oil and gas engineering, which supports thousands of highly skilled jobs, and it would be a shame to lose it,” highlights Kemp. “But the industry's future increasingly lies in selling that expertise abroad, rather than developing the North Sea itself.” More...