Following on from the recommendation by the House of Lords that the government’s plan to broaden the scope of IR35 be re-evaluated, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales’ Tax Faculty has made a similar representation.
An amendment to the Finance Bill 2019-21 had been planned that would include steps to expand off-payroll working to large private sector companies. Due to come into force on 6 April 2020, government announced a postponement until April 2021 ‘to help businesses and individuals deal with the economic impact of COVID-19.’
In our May blog we reported that the House of Lords had advised that the government should ‘give serious consideration to the fairer alternatives to the off-payroll working rules’ and in a recent announcement the ICAEW stated that the delay in implementing the change should be used to reflect on the legislation and to ‘undertake a comprehensive review, encompassing the taxation of the self-employed.’
It is clear that there is much concern about the government’s intentions regarding off-payroll working and the private sector. The ICAEW stated; ‘Given that many private sector organisations have already incurred significant costs and implemented systems changes the Tax Faculty argues that the government has a unique opportunity to consider whether the rules currently being legislated will work as intended, and to act upon the evidence of those businesses.’
To read the ICAEW’s representation in full, please click here.
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