The Queen’s speech: So what’s in it for contractors?

06/29/2015 - 14:08

Dotted around the recent Queen’s Speech, eagle-eyed commentators picked out certain areas that could be of benefit to the UK’s contracting community. In particular the issue of taxation captured attention, and Umbrella Operations Director Neil Armitage had this to say:

“There was a lot to work over following the speech at the end of May. What we noticed were commitments in the area of personal finance that will be of interest to contractors.”

“Notably there were positive noises made as regards income tax, VAT and National Insurance contributions. The notion of a tax lock, enforced for five years, is a positive step forward. If we’re talking about seriously recognising the contributions made by small businesses, entrepreneurs and contractors in hauling Britain out of recession, then freezing VAT, NI and PAYE are definitely moves in the right direction.”

“As ever, we cautiously await the next steps to solidify these promises. We could also wonder what measures will be taken to simplify the tax regimen in which contractors and freelancers currently operate. We help thousands of hard-working professionals meet their tax demands each year, and a constant refrain amongst our clients – and from across the various bodies representing the UK’s self-employed - is that the taxation system they are subject to must become clearer and more-defined.”

“Moving beyond tax and personal finance, there were other interesting elements to the Speech. We noted that the Government is intent on reducing the regulatory burden our self-employed and small business people face. That, again, can only be a good thing, giving hard-working people the chance to spend more of their time working and contributing to the economy, rather than paper-chasing.”

“Overall, then, a lot to get our teeth into and debate! There are clearly measures that have met with a popular response in the contracting community, and now all we can do is monitor how well the Government implements their commitments.”