Britain’s freelancers are welcoming Labour MP Austin Mitchell’s Early Day Motion regarding tax avoidance. The Professional Contractors Group (PCG) says that a sensible debate on the subject of tax avoidance will be highly worthwhile. PCG has long called for consistency, clarity and common sense in the tax system and fully agrees that companies should pay fair taxes on their profits.
PCG chairman Simon Juden said, “While Mr Mitchell’s EDM seems to focus on big business, there is a small business dimension to this issue as well. Our members have had long and bitter experience of hastily implemented anti-avoidance measures. The ‘IR35’ legislation was aimed at artificial arrangements, but continues to catch many genuine businesses in its net.
“We’ve also seen how the current interpretation of the settlements legislation penalises thousands of family businesses who acted in good faith by adopting the corporate structure recommended by most accountants and the Government’s own advisory services. PCG members have consistently argued that rather than target honest small businesses, the Treasury could perhaps more usefully target well-known avoidance measures of larger firms,” added Dr Juden.
Our members have had long and bitter experience of hastily implemented anti avoidance measures
Simon Juden - PCG
“PCG would like to see a simple tax system which encourages small businesses and entrepreneurs while protecting the interests of ordinary citizens. Transactions entered into for reasons of tax advantage rather than commercial purposes should certainly not be allowed to pass unchallenged,” he continued. “We welcome any debate that leads to hard-working small businesses having their arrangements respected while tax loop-holes exploited by businesses both large and small will be closed.”