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What Contractors and Employment Agencies Should Know about GAAR
The General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) was enacted in July 2013 to address taxation arrangements that took advantage of loopholes in the tax law. The rulings are of importance to self-employed workers and entities that take part in shady employment schemes to avoid...
Private Sector Independent Contractors Advised to Prepare for IR35 Reform
Independent workers and UK private businesses alike were dismayed to hear the announcement in Budget 2018 that IR35 reform rules will be extended to the private sector in April 2020. Once the reform is implemented, medium and large private businesses in the UK will be...
Employers Need to Inform Workers of Their Annual Leave Entitlement
A decision recently made by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has implications on the UK workers right of carrying over the statutory holiday. The ECJ had ruled that workers have the right to statutory holiday pay at the end of a carryover period or when their...
HMRC Accused of Concealing Results of Public Sector IR35 Reform
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has been severely criticised for its aggressive approach regarding the off-payroll working rules. The IR35 reform that has been introduced in the public sector in April 2017 has been singled out by professional contracting agencies and...
NAO Report on Investigation into the BBC’s Engagement with Personal Service Companies
The BBC has been accused of not "fully untangling" the "mess" over some presenters' tax affairs. The chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Meg Hillier MP, said some freelancers had been left in "desperate circumstances". Her comments come as the spending watchdog,...
IR35 Forum Minutes Reveal the Reason for Delay in Private Sector
The much dreaded IR35 extension in the private sector had been announced by the Government during Budget 2018. However, much to the relief of the private sector businesses and contractors the extension had been delayed by a year until April 2020. The reason for the...
Private Sector IR35 Reform Could Hurt Low Paid Workers
During the Budget 2018, the UK Government had announced extension of the controversial IR35 rules to the private sector. The said rule will be implemented in April 2020 and will be applicable to medium and large sized private businesses. Professional bodies that...
Living Wage Rate Goes Beyond the Minimum Government Wage Rate
A pay raise is expected for workers who are engaged with Living Wage employers in the UK. The increase in wages is more than the rise in inflation levels this year. The UK Living Wage has been increased to £9 per hour by the Living Wage Foundation. This represents a...
HMRC Announce Plans to Make Changes to CEST Tool
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have at last accepted the flaws with its highly criticised Check Employment Status Tax (CEST) tool. This has been announced in the latest IR35 Forum minutes released the previous week. CEST has received a lot of criticism from...
Experts Warn IR35 Will Increase Business Costs
Criticisms continue to pour regarding the Government's decision to go ahead with the private sector IR35 extension. The new rules require all medium and large size private sector UK businesses to assess the employment status of contracting professionals. According to...
HMRC Reveals $1BN Claim Against General Electric
Britain's authorities have declared war on one of America's biggest corporations in an attempt to seize $1billion they allege should have been paid in tax. General Electric, which operates in 180 countries and employs 295,000 staff, is being sued for the equivalent of...
Government Defers Private Sector IR35 Reform Until 2020
In the recently announced Budget 2018, the Government has decided to defer the private sector IR35 reform until 2020. This news has been welcomed by agencies representing self-employed and contracting professionals. However, they also criticised the Government for...