APSCo, a group that represents many of the recruiters that umbrella company contractors work with, has become the latest organisation invited by the Revenue to join the IR35 Forum.
The government created the IR35 Forum after the Chancellor told us of his decision to retain the legislation in his March Budget speech.
APSCo has been lobbying the government on IR35 issues ever since it was introduced in 1999. Ann Swain, the chief executive of the Association, explained that as the industry body representing recruitment agencies that engage a large number of the UK’s self-employed, it’s important for APSCo to have a front seat in IR35 discussions.
The government is taking the view of better the devil you know when it comes to IR35 and now steps must be taken to improve its implementation. HMRC has already highlighted areas where improvements could be made and APSCo hopes the Forum will deliver clarity and real improvements for the contracting community, she added.
One of the planned improvements is the introduction of dedicated helplines which will be staffed by specialists. In addition to the IR35 Forum, HMRC also intends to publish guidance on the sort of cases it views as outside the scope of the legislation and restrict reviews to cases it classes as high-risk.
David Gauke has already confirmed that everybody who was involved in the initial review of IR35, undertaken by the OTS last year, will be invited to take part in the Forum.
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