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An index measuring contractor confidence has dropped significantly in the third quarter of 2015, with government attitudes towards contracting the apparent root cause.
The Freelancer Confidence Index which is conducted by The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed (IPSE) has recorded a significant decline in the latter parts of 2015.
The index score measuring contractor’s business prospects has dropped negative for the first time ever.
A shock employment law regulation which could be announced at the Autumn Statement on the 25th of November has been heavily criticised by large portions of the contracting community. Currently it is unclear when it will come in, if at all.
The rumoured policy proposal, which many insist is still only a rumour, would mean that contractors using personal service companies like Umbrella.co.uk would be obliged to move onto a client’s PAYE system if their contract ran longer than one month.
HMRC, the UK’s tax authority, has announced that 137 local tax offices are to be closed and replaced with 13 regional tax centres. The announcement which comes after reports emerged that taxman failures were costing the public purse. It has stoked fears of job losses and short term disruption to the tax system.
Last week, MPs warned that the quality of customer service at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) was so poor that it could be could be costing the country money.
In a strongly worded report, members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) accused the tax office of only answering half of the calls to its customer service team. MPs also cautioned that those running tax evasion and tax avoidance schemes were “running rings around the taxman".
Committee statistics said that HMRC responded to 72.5 percent of calls in 2014-15, a rate that dropped to 50 percent in the first half of this year.
Although the customer services team have a target of answering 80% of phone calls within five minutes, the damning report said that operators were only getting to 39% in this time.
A lot of small business owners put off getting VAT registered because they find it daunting. But VAT doesn’t have to be taxing. The Flat Rate VAT scheme makes it easy, and it can help boost your post-tax profits too.
The Flat Rate VAT incentive is a popular choice for independent contractors, sole traders and directors of small limited companies. Read on to find out if it is right for you as well.
How Flat Rate VAT works
The Flat Rate VAT scheme is a government incentive designed to simplify taxation and get more small businesses growing.
Christmas is just around the corner and while limited company owners are all a bit old to be sending letters to Santa Claus, we thought we’d draw up a different wish list – one for the chancellor to read before his Autumn Statement.
1) Reappraise the dividend tax changes
From April 2016, changes to the rules governing dividend tax payments will make lots of limited company owners worse off.
The changes affecting limited companies will see the notional 10% tax credit on dividends abolished and replaced with a £5,000 tax free dividend allowance. Over this threshold, dividends could be taxed at a rate of up to 38.1% (for additional rate payers).
It is the dreaded time of year to get around to completing your self-assessment tax return.
Tax Return Deadline
Online tax returns should be submitted before the midnight 31st January 2016.
This is also the date any outstanding taxes need to be paid.
The deadline for paper tax returns was 31st October 2015.
Instead of putting it off and having the constant worry about it needing it doing contact Umbrella.co.uk today and we can help you get it completed within the next 2 working days.
In the House of Lords Grand Committee meeting on 10th November 2015 Lord Palmer speaks out about the rushed amendments to the March Finance Bill 2015 and the good work umbrella companies do in aiding the efficient collecting of taxes.
The key points raised by Lord Palmer were:
“The March 2015 Finance Bill—not the Bill before us today—had a clause added to it without consultation, and was enacted two days after that addition was made. The Government did not notify the umbrella company sector that it would be making those changes at that late stage. In speaking today, I am seeking that the Government should think again with the current Bill and repeal the section in question.
The Chancellor. George Osborne, will deliver his Autumn Statement on 25th November 2015 and rumours have just been leaked that he is considering sweeping changes that will adversely affect UK contractors.
The Autumn Statement is in effect a mini budget.
Contractor One Month Rule
Over the weekend there were various reported leaks that The Chancellor is considering a new rule that would mean contractors who take a contract longer than one month would have to be paid PAYE by their end client after just one month. It is unclear if it would be from day 1 if it was known at the start that the contract would be for more than one month.
A survey has found that a majority of UK contractors would vote to stay in the European Union (EU) if a membership vote were held tomorrow.
The research, which was published by The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) last week, found that 61 percent of contractors want Britain to remain a part of the EU.
This majority outweighs the 24 percent who would vote to leave and the 14 percent who were undecided.
