Industry News Articles

New Chancellor Drops IR35 Bombshell in Government Mini-Budget
marketing | 23 September 2022
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Liz Truss’ new Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng dropped an IR35 bombshell today, announcing he would reverse off-payroll (IR35) reforms in the Public and Private sectors from April 2023.

The significant, and generally unexpected announcement means it will be up to individual contractors to decide whether they are inside or outside IR35, with no input from their clients.

Kwarteng said reversing the reforms is aimed at taking complexity out of the tax system.

HMRC’s fresh crackdown on tax avoidance schemes

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has brought fresh impetus to its crackdown on tax avoidance schemes, issuing a £1 million fine for one promoter and ‘naming and shaming’ four additional schemes.

Hyrax Resourcing Ltd received a £1 million fine for promoting a tax avoidance scheme that paid contractors through loans rather than taxable income.

Tax warning: Stockport and Liverpool firms named by HMRC

HMRC has added three more companies to its list of ‘named tax avoidance schemes, promoters, enablers and suppliers’ and two of them have offices in the North West of England.

IPSE names worst offending late payers
marketing | 8 August 2022
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In an effort to improve payment practices for self-employed workers, the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed (IPSE) has named the worst offending late payers in the UK.

Since April 2017, large companies have been required to report their payment practices to the UK government. IPSE has collated information from the latest data release to find the ten companies that take the longest time to pay.

The information covers payments to limited company contractors and other businesses. Payments to umbrella contractors are not included in this information, as these contractors are paid by PAYE.

How much does it cost to run a limited company as a contractor

For many years, running a limited company was almost the default option for contractors.

Union to take on Deliveroo over riders’ employment status
marketing | 16 September 2022
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The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) will take on food delivery giant Deliveroo in the Supreme Court in an attempt to secure better employment rights for the company’s riders.

The court case will centre on the employment status of Deliveroo riders and the employment status they’re entitled to.https://deliveroo.co.uk/

Nine-in-ten contractors don’t believe new PM’s IR35 promise
marketing | 6 September 2022
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More than nine out of every ten contractors (94%) think Liz Truss’s pledge to review IR35 is an ‘empty promise’, according to a survey by Qdos.

Contractor vacancies up 13% since pandemic
marketing | 31 August 2022
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Uncertainty around recruitment has led to an increase in the number of opportunities for contractors, according to research from APSCo.

While Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show that the number of new permanent vacancies is beginning to slow compared to Pre-Covid, APSCo data shows that opportunities for contractors increased 13% in July 2022 compared to July 2019.

Permanent opportunities decreased 23% in this same period.

Umbrella Take Home Pay: Why 90% is Impossible
marketing | 29 July 2022
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When it comes to choosing an umbrella company, maximising take home pay is a priority for most contractors.

Unfortunately, schemes that advertise the best rates of take home pay are also the ones that will get you in trouble with HMRC.

Even though most of these firms claim to be ‘100% compliant’, the reality is that an umbrella company that can offer 90% take home pay simply can’t be conforming with tax regulations.

Two-in-five Brits going freelance

New research from the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) has revealed that almost 40% of British workers have considered becoming a freelancer.

Employees working in media, marketing, PR and sales were most likely to say they wanted to go freelance (57%), with construction a close second (47%). The figures also showed that men were more likely to go self-employed than women.

When asked about the motivation for a switch, the main responses were about flexibility and better work-life balance. Interestingly, only a third of employees said they thought they would earn more if they went it alone.

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