Contractors could benefit from tax competitiveness measures proposed by OTS
Contractors could benefit from a number of tax competitiveness measures that include simplifying corporation and income tax, and streamlining all tax payments through a single ‘tax account’. These measures have been proposed by the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) in its final instalment of the Competitiveness of UK tax administration review. “We want to produce recommendations which provide real and lasting simplifications for businesses, and to make it easier, cheaper and less time consuming for them to fulfil their tax obligations,” says the OTS. More...
Self-employed contractor numbers suffer short-term dip, but remain at record high
The number of self-employed contractors and freelancers fell by 76,000 in the three months to August 2014. However, the latest Labour Market Statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) highlight this short-term dip masks the overall trend that shows year-on-year the number of self-employed workers in the UK rose by 6%. According to IPSE chief executive Chris Bryce: “[These] figures show that self-employment is growing at more than three times the rate of traditional employment. This is proof that the rise in self-employment is here to stay as Britain gets back to work.” More...
Contract opportunities growing sharply as Irish financial sector recovers
Contractor opportunities for both IT and financial contractors are growing fast in Ireland as the country’s financial sector recovers. According to September 2014’s Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor, the number of professional vacancies has increase by nearly a third year-on-year, yet candidate availability is falling. This will present new contract opportunities for UK-based contractors prepared to relocate for work. More...
IT contractors with cloud, web-scale IT and internet of things skills in demand
IT contractors who have, or plan to acquire, the latest skills in the areas of cloud, web-scale IT and the internet of things (IoT) will be in greatest demand during 2015. Computer Weekly’s Archana Venkatraman reports that according to research firm Gartner’s 10 technology trends for 2015 “cloud computing, software-defined architectures, 3D printing, internet of things (IoT), web-scale IT and advanced data analytics” are among the top technologies that will be “strategic for most organisations in 2015”. More...
Marketing and media contractor prospects strong for remainder of 2014
Marketing and media contractor prospects are looking strong on the run up to the end of 2014 and this positive outlook is likely to continue into 2015, albeit at a slightly reduced rate. The Q3 2014 Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) Bellwether Report also notes that marketing budgets increased at the third highest rates in the survey’s history during the third quarter of 2014. Spend, and the likely source of new contracts, is focused on web-based and main media marketing. More...
Construction contractors benefit from post-summer bounce in activity
Construction contractors have benefitted from a rebound in new projects and contracts in the commercial construction sector, which has suffered a slowdown during the summer months. The Savills Commercial Development Activity report for September 2014 indicates that the growth in new construction projects was broad-based, but greater in the private sector compared to the public sector. Looking forward, contractor prospects are positive with “anticipated expansions in funding, new projects and client interest”. More...
Contractors across multiple disciplines receive contract boost from North Sea Cygnus project
Oil and gas contractors look set to benefit from over 4,800 new contracts and jobs across the UK as a result of the GDF Suez Cygnus gas project. Rigzone reports that the new roles will require highly skilled oil and gas, engineering and construction contractors during the five-year build phase, and up to 1,500 contracts and jobs will be secured during the Cygnus gas field’s operation. More...
Contractors’ rights to contest tax disputes in the courts under threat, warns CIOT
The rights that contractors have to contest the amount of tax they owe to HMRC through the courts are being threatened by new powers being granted to the taxman. The president of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT), Anne Fairpo, warns that “‘We’re finding it too difficult to collect via the court system’ isn’t a good enough reason to throw out the protection of the courts for taxpayers. I am concerned about the increasing focus on HMRC enforcement without third party supervision.” Fairpo’s concerns relate to HMRC’s powers to take tax directly from taxpayers’ bank accounts, follower notices and accelerated payments, all of which could impact on contractors. More...
Contractors have until 31 October to submit paper tax returns or face £100 penalty
Contractors planning to submit a paper tax return for the 2013-14 tax year have until 31 October or they face an automatic £100 late-filing penalty. The penalties grow progressively larger as there are further fines after three, six and 12 months. Contractors who miss the paper return deadline still have until 31 January 2015, a further three months, to submit their tax return online. More...
Contractors the target of multiple HMRC tax taskforces during 2014-15
Contractors have been the target of multiple HMRC task forces during the 2014-15 tax year, and the pressure is unlikely to relent according to AccountingWeb’s Nick Huber. “There have been 80 taskforces since 2011 and 20 more are planned in 2014-2015,” writes Huber, saying that tax taskforces can be highly effective: “One rough rule is for every pound that tax investigations cost, 10 pounds is collected”. Although not targeted specifically except as part of HMRC’s national IR35 enforcement campaign, contractors with investment properties and living in specific areas have been subject the campaigns. More...