Agency Workers Regulations for contractors: few winners and vulnerable remain exposed
Contractors can rest easy now they know how the Agency Workers Regulations will impact on them. Or can they? Who really stands to gain? And lose?
IR35 is here to stay and you read it weeks before the Budget on ContractorCalculator
The Chancellor’s 2011 Budget 2011 decision to retain IR35 and administer it better was hardly a surprise. In fact it was forecast here in January.
IR35 alternatives: HMRC can’t provide ROI on IR35 enforcement, but why should it?
HMRC does not hold the data required to test the past effectiveness of IR35 enforcement. But consider its broader role and then ask ‘why should it?’
IR35 alternatives: separating what contractors want from what is practical
Stronger IR35 enforcement is almost certainly not what contractors want, but it may be the only practical solution from the options offered by OTS.
Contractors can benefit from tax savings, just like banks and big businesses do
Make like the banks and big businesses: beat inflation and make your money work harder for you by minimising your tax liabilities & investing wisely.
Current IR35 enforcement practice presents a poor case for return on investment
If IR35 enforcement were a commercial project, it would be thrown out by the financial director as offering a poor or negative return on investment.
IR35 is here to stay until fundamental tax issues are addressed to make it redundant
Despite its flaws IR35 is likely to remain in place until the wider tax system is reformed to address fundamental issues that will make it redundant.
Great Expectations – a way of life for contractors with thermostats set to ‘high’
By closing the expectations versus reality gap, winning contractors raise their standards and can earn much more. Sadly, it works the other way, too.
End of an era – the demise of the high volume contractor recruitment agency
Are sites like LinkedIn and Xpert Profile killing off volume recruitment agencies? And is that a good thing for clients and contractors?
IR35: the existing rules catch neither fish nor fowl
The higher up the food chain a contractor is found, the harder it is to prove IR35. But are contractors on lower rates worth HMRC’s expense & effort?
Calling an end to the IR35 arms race
The cold war over IR35 has been one of escalation; when HMRC makes an advance, contractors & their tax advisers find solutions. Then HMRC moves again.
Keep your contracting skills up-to-date & focused on the benefits you offer clients
To always be in contract, make sure you have a skills development strategy that will enhance the features and benefits you can offer future clients.
A win-win: spending cuts present an opportunity for contractors and the public sector
The Comprehensive Spending Review will require public sector employers to consider new ways of engaging workers, benefiting contractors & taxpayers.
IR35: making a monkey out of contractors... or HMRC?
Between the extremes of pass & fail, the existing tests to determine IR35 status leave many contractors in an evolutionary legislative no man’s land.
Don’t get caught out in contract negotiation – contracting basics are easy to master
First-time contractors used only to the world of permanent employment are prone to negotiate poorly. Knowing the basics can help you avoid pitfalls.
New IR35 status tests must avoid catching genuine contracting businesses in IR35 web
To avoid damaging the flexible workforce & its contribution to the UK’s economic recovery, any new IR35 status tests must exclude genuine contractors.
Amendments to IR35 could make things worse for the contracting sector and contractors
In tackling IR35’s ambiguities, the Office of Tax Simplification must avoid further complicating contractors’ lives and damaging their livelihoods.
Contractors investing in pensions and ISAs are morally wrong, according to Government
The line between legal tax avoidance and illegal tax evasion is being disingenuously blurred in a state-sponsored romp for greater tax yield.
Contractors’ tax and the final legacy of the Office of Tax Complication
The final act of the outgoing government was to burden HMRC, the Treasury and taxpayers with a complex income tax regime even the taxman can’t use.
Abolish IR35? An ‘accident’ that isn’t going to happen, no matter how fast OTS goes
IR35 has not been abolished. It’s being reviewed but is still very much in force. Contractors who ignore this may encounter a nasty IR35 roadblock.
IR35’s replacement isn’t a simple legislative game – it’s Guess Who? with 1.4m people
Because flexible workers come in all shapes and sizes, and are given various labels in different sectors, creating an IR35 replacement won’t be easy.
Any IR35 replacement will need to unleash the flexible workforce
There is a fine line between encouraging entrepreneurs & encouraging abuse of the tax system. On which side of the line will IR35’s successor appear?
Disguised employees evading national equivalents of IR35 is a global issue
Entrepreneurs earn the right to be rewarded with lower taxes, but contractors around the world seem to want to have their cake and eat it.
ConDem management of IR35 looks to be as consistent as Fabio’s management of England
The UK’s IR35 squad is suffering from unclear messages from a government that is preventing HMRC achieving its revenue goals.
Can a leopard ever change its spots? Or a poodle its perm?
Public sector IT projects often start in disaster so it’s no surprise many end that way. Can transparent contracts drive change in public sector IT?
IR35: going nowhere fast
Amid all the hype surrounding the review of IR35 stalks the spectre of reality, dictating that contractors won’t be out from its shadow for a year.
The moving feast that is IR35
In the space of a few short weeks we’ve been told the demise of IR35 is imminent and seen the publication of new case law guidance by HMRC.
Repealing IR35 and the law of unintended consequences – be careful what you wish for
IR35 is unfair to those it affects, but genuine contractors should have little to fear from the devil we know, yet much to fear from its replacement.
Discuss contracting issues with your next MP now, while they’re still listening
Just days away from the election, there's still no firm position from the main parties on IR35. There's still time for contractors to lobby their PPC.
Contractors and taxation: Calculating the true cost of tax increases
When Chancellors introduce taxes, they rarely think of the true cost to businesses of implementing the changes or the wider impacts on the economy.