IR35 stays...

[deckster]

Don't like to depress anyone but I read through the OTS proposal to the Government earlier and one of the ideas they proposed was a simple business test which, if you passed, would guarantee your IR35 status. The proposed criteria were how many clients you have and how many staff - it doesn't take much to go from here to one man Ltd companies being inside IR35 by default if they only have one client at a time.

Excellent, so I'll charge out a tenner a month for fixing my mates computers, which makes it two clients at a time. Job done.

Oh, isn't that what they meant? So exactly how many clients do I need to have? Over what kind of timescale? And how much time do I need to spend working for them for them to count?

Or you need more than one employee? No problem, my wife's already on the payroll as she does the admin. Multiple employees, therefore outside IR35. Oh, isn't that what you meant either?

That's the problem with these 'simple tests'...they never are.

[Fred Bloggs]

That is beginning to sound more like the Australian 80/20% rule. I had always feared that getting on the agenda.

[VectraMan]

It also wouldn't be hard for two like-minded and similarly paid contractors to get together to form one limited. More than one employee, and more than one client. Tick.

[Fred Bloggs]

It also wouldn't be hard for two like-minded and similarly paid contractors to get together to form one limited. More than one employee, and more than one client. Tick.

Arrangements like that would probably fall foul of the MSC laws enacted a few years back to shut down composite service companies.

[SorenLorensen]

That is beginning to sound more like the Australian 80/20% rule. I had always feared that getting on the agenda.

This would be the worst of all possible outcomes IMO, would kill contracting.

[malvolio]

This would be the worst of all possible outcomes IMO, would kill contracting.

It's not even on the table. The "in business" tests in the OTS report were purely illustrative and, incidentally, a fair way away from PCG's original example proposals. If such tests are adopted, and they may not be thought necessary, they will have to be fully and carefully worked out so that the right people are targetted, which is the whole point of the exercise.

Let's face, right now all we have is a ministerial commitment to improve the way IR35 is policed. How that is done is up for grabs.

[Jog On]

Is there any clarification on the '90%' of outside businesses and the 'high risk' targets?

[TheFaQQer]

Don't like to depress anyone but I read through the OTS proposal to the Government earlier and one of the ideas they proposed was a simple business test which, if you passed, would guarantee your IR35 status. The proposed criteria were how many clients you have and how many staff - it doesn't take much to go from here to one man Ltd companies being inside IR35 by default if they only have one client at a time.

Which would kill the UK pub industry even more than the current situation. It's not just about contractors, either

[malvolio]

Is there any clarification on the '90%' of outside businesses and the 'high risk' targets?

No, but since the main justification for keeping IR35 was to have a hammer for any high-paid bankers who can't use EBT's any more simply incorporating as an F2M, I would guess that would be one of the parameters.

[Fred Bloggs]

This would be the worst of all possible outcomes IMO, would kill contracting.

It pretty much has in Oz. It might not be on the table here, but anything similar would have the same effect. Even George O isn't that dumb. Is he???