BN66 - Time to fight back!!!

[DonkeyRhubarb]

Why so much interest from people who are clearly not directly affected by BN66? Just morbid curiosity? Or do we have some "strangers" amongst us?

[neilawuk]

dude69, I'd have been very happy paying 20% tax, tell me how do you do that??? tell me where did u get 15% from?

[DonkeyRhubarb]

If the clause was unclear then the obvious option is to ask for clarification from HMRC at the time. If you did this and were told that what you were planning was perfectly ok, then you have nothing to worry about. If you didnt, then the question has to be asked "why not?"

So, do you run all your contracts past HMRC to make sure they are happy with the way you are operating your business? The only person I know who was stupid enough to do this got the response you would expect. HMRC play by their own rules and to assume they are there to help you is very dangerous in my opinion.

[dude69]

Why so much interest from people who are clearly not directly affected by BN66? Just morbid curiosity? Or do we have some "strangers" amongst us?

You came touting for allies, but people are not sympathetic.

That's reality for you.

You took the piss. You lost. Never mind.

You should have weighed up the risk/reward ration on this one before you took the bet. To me, it was crazy, as I said, because the savings is too small, and the remaining tax liability is very large, and all that money sent to IoM is gone for good.

Actually 'Joe Public' would be resentful of the amount of tax I pay, so god knows what he'd think of you, you should try posting your tale of woe on say 'Moneysavingexpert'. See what people think of you there.

[dude69]

If the clause was unclear then the obvious option is to ask for clarification from HMRC at the time. If you did this and were told that what you were planning was perfectly ok, then you have nothing to worry about. If you didnt, then the question has to be asked "why not?"

So, do you run all your contracts past HMRC to make sure they are happy with the way you are operating your business? The only person I know who was stupid enough to do this got the response you would expect. HMRC play by their own rules and to assume they are there to help you is very dangerous in my opinion.

Help me understand.

Please.

You decided that it was possible to do what seems impossible, to claim that work performed wholly in the UK for a UK-resident person, was subject to Isle of Man tax.

Now to do that, you'd have to be DAMN sure of yourself.

What professional tax counsel did you pay for before you made this decision? How much time did you (or better, your counsel) spend reading the legislation and tax treaties before you entered into what is quite plainly a risky tax avoidance scheme?

[BrilloPad]

You came touting for allies, but people are not sympathetic.

That's reality for you.

You took the piss. You lost. Never mind.

Indeed. As I found out in my divorce. Though I have answered loads of PMs from people on divorce related issues - CUK is like a mini version of the UK. Everyone for themself.

It is NOT lost yet. not by a long way. bn666 is an admission of guilt by HMRC. safest thing now is for them to close the scheme.

[DonkeyRhubarb]

You came touting for allies, but people are not sympathetic.

You are mistaken. Maybe I should have made it clear from the start but my only intended audience were other people affected by BN66, specifically those who were in the MTM/Montpelier scheme, so that we could share info, discuss tactics etc. I am genuinely surprised by the level of response this has prompted.

What possible use would allies and sympathy from an internet bulletin board be anyway?

The reason for starting a new thread, rather than posting on the MTM IR35 Scheme thread was to keep this clutter free, which has obviously failed in the first few hours.

[DonkeyRhubarb]

Now to do that, you'd have to be DAMN sure of yourself.

No, I always accepted it was a high risk strategy, which is why I didn't spend the money. (Incidentally, I transferred it to my wife who wasn't working to avoid tax on the interest ).

Like any other high risk investment, you can never be certain of the outcome. You hope that the greater risk will produce a greater reward but there are no guarantees. Of course, I did some due diligence as you would for any other investment but in the end it requires a certain leap of faith.

My only regret is that if I'd known it was going to drag on for 5 years I would have done something a bit more creative with the money instead of just sticking it in a savings account. A bit of a missed opportunity there but you live and learn.

I have always accepted the fact that we could lose but I don't intend to go down without a fight.

[NotAllThere]

Why so much interest from people who are clearly not directly affected by BN66? Just morbid curiosity? Or do we have some "strangers" amongst us?

For me it's morbid curiosity. Though I'm broadly sympathetic.

[DonkeyRhubarb]

The moral argument

Up to now, no-one has mentioned the moral argument about tax avoidance, so I thought I'd get in first.

If you believe that contractors should pay the same tax as everyone else then you are obviously a better person than me. However, I haven't come across many contractors who share this view, and most people I know have taken one route or another to circumvert IR35.

In any case it is not a level playing field. Contractors may be highy paid but that is partly compensation for lack of security. Moreover, if companies didn't see the value in using contractors then they wouldn't engage them. It is a 2-way street. Companies are willing to pay more for skills and flexibility. In any case, rates are market driven and we all saw what happened after the dotcom bust. How many employees do you know who would take a 50% rate cut on the chin like some contractors I knew!

If you compare contractors with highly paid employees on a similar renumeration, then that's not a level playing field either. Employees don't have to stump up 12% uncapped NI.

You may think that some of the more aggressive schemes are a step too far but, before you get on your high horse, remember a large section of the public would probably take offence at how little tax you pay as well.

End of rant.