Government to consult on tax avoidance in the private sector

[BoredBloke]

Perhaps...but why don't big companies use those big consultancies for everything now? Presumably because whilst individual contractors may be a bit more hassle (500 contracts and 500 invoices/month instead of 1), it'll be significantly cheaper for them.

When it comes to corporate tax, the big corps are evidently prepared to sail fairly close to the wind. Presumably at least partly because they're confident their lawyers are better than HMRC's and/or they check the legal small print very carefully to ensure they stay just the right side of the law. So they're happy to take a bit of a risk there to save some money. Why would it be any different for the situation we're talking about?

Big companies have PSL of agents. The agents get to deal with the contractors 500 invoices and then bell the client. The client may have 500 contractors but has only a handful of invoices from the agents.

[PerfectStorm]

QDOS has opined:

https://www.qdoscontractor.com/news/...5-consultation

[swamp]

QDOS has opined:

https://www.qdoscontractor.com/news/...5-consultation

...more telling is their boast that they are able to approach a public sector organisation in order to obtain information on a large number of PSCs at once and thereby open a single enquiry covering multiple workers engaged by that end client

Not quite sure what they mean by that. Since the liability lies with the agents, they would have to open an enquiry at that level and not the client?

[TonyF]

Since the liability lies with the agents, they would have to open an enquiry at that level and not the client?

It won't be an enquiry at all - everyone will be working as an employee via an umbrella company in the ideal HMRC world.

[RobScott]

fair play by the government

why only Public sector contractors affected by this, let all the contractors be under one rule.

[malvolio]

Big companies have PSL of agents. The agents get to deal with the contractors 500 invoices and then bell the client. The client may have 500 contractors but has only a handful of invoices from the agents.

Still think this is an urban myth, probably from the agencies. The last medium sized company I worked with (around £50m pa turnover) handled over 12,000 invoices a month without blinking. A couple of hundred either way wouldn't bother them. It certainly won't trouble a big company.

What companies buy from agencies is risk mitigation and the best available staff on their books (ha ha...), not processing efficiencies.

[Darren at Fox-Bartfield]

Still think this is an urban myth, probably from the agencies. The last medium sized company I worked with (around £50m pa turnover) handled over 12,000 invoices a month without blinking. A couple of hundred either way wouldn't bother them. It certainly won't trouble a big company.

What companies buy from agencies is risk mitigation and the best available staff on their books (ha ha...), not processing efficiencies.

Would tend to agree with the risk mitigation but also add that it's the saving on time sourcing new contractors/staff at the outset, as well as that most individuals go to agencies to source new work. In effect a conduit. We tend to use a max of 3 agencies as most of the decent staff go through them and also saves time advertising then sifting through a load of inappropriate CV's. Not a fan of agents, especially their fee levels but they serve a purpose in the current market.