Member companies of the REC met with the Office of Tax Simplification last week to discuss IR35. The REC was recently appointed to the OTS’ small business consultative committee. The head of public policy at the REC, Gillian Econopouly, said she was delighted that members had the opportunity to discuss IR35 directly with the OTS.
The problem of the multitude of different government regulations is now so bad that businesses often breach them simply because they don’t know which rules apply to them, according to a new report from the National Audit Office.
Umbrella company contractors might be unsurprised to hear that the Commons Treasury select committee has been told that HMRC is nearly at breaking point due to recent staffing cuts.
Umbrella company contractors will be interested to hear that the REC is joining the Office of Tax Simplification. REC officials will now join a number of other legal and tax experts on the small business consultative committee.
This week is National Apprenticeship Week and the FSB has taken the opportunity to urge the coalition to remove some of the barriers stifling job creation, to enable more businesses to take on apprentices.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has some worrying news for people who are looking forward to a simpler UK tax system.
Small businesses, including limited company contractors, could benefit if the Ministry of Defence rethinks the way it deals with SMEs, according to a new report by the FSB.
The freezing December weather caused 38% of small businesses to close and a further 41% to operate without their full complement of staff. The cost to the small business sector was in the region of £2.1bn.
The Institute of Employment Rights is concerned about the government’s proposed “employer’s charter”, currently under consideration.
In its election manifesto, the Conservative party promised to implement a fuel duty stabiliser and the FSB is urging them put it in place as soon as possible.
IT contractors will no doubt be interested to learn some of the predictions that have been made for the industry in 2011.
Advice website Smarta.com has predicted that small businesses could increasingly outsource some of their workloads this year and this could benefit umbrella company contractors.
The government is keen to see small businesses grow and to help this happen it has launched some new initiatives. It has also been announced that the New Enterprise Allowance scheme is to be extended in the hope of creating up to 40,000 new companies by 2013.
David Cameron has vowed that the government will focus on job creation in 2011.
Umbrella company contractors and those working through their own limited companies could be pleased to learn that Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office Minister, has abolished a two-tier arrangement that governed public sector payroll outsourcing.
The FSB is calling on the coalition and the banks to give small businesses a bit of breathing space so that they can stay afloat over the festive season.
