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. Recruitment agencies, especially in sectors such as interim management and technology, had the chance to express their concerns about the current system and put forward their ideas for improvement.
It is crucial for the UK to maintain a flexible workforce and the REC welcomes the OTS’ work in making it more straightforward for SMEs and contractors to comply with tax legislation. The Confederation will continue representing the views of its members on the committee and last week’s roundtable provided a valuable opportunity for recruiters to explain the problems they are currently facing in dealing with tax and IR35 in particular, she added.
John Whiting, the OTS director, recently announced that the Office will be providing a report on its taxation review before the Budget on March 23rd. He did however warn limited company contractors that it will take time to iron out reforms to IR35 and asked them to be patient.
IR35 has been a thorn in the life of contractors since its inception in 1999. It was created primarily as a means of determining a person’s employment status but because of the complex and ambiguous nature of the rules, it has caused nothing but headaches for a large number of freelancers.
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Image: up ahead by Robb North
