Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Freelancers have called the government’s six-week review into IR35 tax changes “an insult” and claim HMRC is intent on bulldozing its controversial reforms come what may.
HMRC wants to bring thousands of freelance contractors who are effectively full-time employees within PAYE to tackle what the taxman sees is “disguised employment”. Responsibility for assessing the tax status of self-employed contractors is due to shift from the contractor to the company that hires them.
IR35 legislation, which has been heavily criticised by tax experts and business as being poorly conceived, badly implemented by HMRC and could reduce a worker’s net income by up to 25 per cent, is set to roll out on 6 April 2020.
>See also: Over half of self-employed don’t even know what IR35 is
However, the Federation of Small Businesses says that big corporations say they’ll pull the plug on contractors if IR35 goes ahead unchanged.
Today (Jan 7) the government launched its review into off-payroll working rules, gathering evidence from affected individuals and businesses, which it says will be completed by mid-February.
Julia Kermode, chief executive of The Freelancer & Contractor Services Association (FCSA), said: “This seems to be another meaningless review from a government who