Assistance in putting together some information for MP

[speling bee]

My view is that any argument based on fairness will fail in the current economic and political climate. We earn a lot of money and will see no sympathy. The key, I believe, if the effect it has on the economy and particularly on the public sector. As OH says, there will be a six month turnover, which will lead to one of:

- Stalled projects due to changing workforce
- Poor quality projects, due to only rubbish contractors accepting the terms
- Expensive projects, due to paying good contractors more to cover increased taxation or (more likely IMO) getting consultancies in at 1 to 2k per day.

So, risks to time, quality and cost.

The problem as I see it (beyond the nonsense of IR35) is that the 6 months and £220 pd are arbitrary and have no relationship to IR35 and therefore to tax obligations.

If my extension goes down the swanny will happily share the details of the project that goes down the swanny - not an IT project where generic skills can be brought in, but extremely niche.

[Old Hack]

My view is that any argument based on fairness will fail in the current economic and political climate. We earn a lot of money and will see no sympathy. The key, I believe, if the effect it has on the economy and particularly on the public sector. As OH says, there will be a six month turnover, which will lead to one of:

- Stalled projects due to changing workforce
- Poor quality projects, due to only rubbish contractors accepting the terms
- Expensive projects, due to paying good contractors more to cover increased taxation or (more likely IMO) getting consultancies in at 1 to 2k per day.

So, risks to time, quality and cost.

The problem as I see it (beyond the nonsense of IR35) is that the 6 months and £220 pd are arbitrary and have no relationship to IR35 and therefore to tax obligations.

If my extension goes down the swanny will happily share the details of the project that goes down the swanny - not an IT project where generic skills can be brought in, but extremely niche.

Indeed, I have already been told leaving will cause the project to stall, as they have no skills in house, nor can they find a contractor who has my niche skills.

Projects are going to bomb, because of this.

[mudskipper]

I think you should remove the 2 year bit completely - it's muddying the issue. Don't dilute a good argument with a weak one.

Also worth emphasising that the business entity tests are not law, nor does being 'low risk' mean you are outside IR35, (or 'high risk' as inside). As such, they are not particularly helpful at indicating IR35 status.

Oh, and you can claim unemployment benefits as a company director - need to make sure it's factually correct or you lose credibility.

[SueEllen]

Good points raised so far.

I suggest you mention paying for training.

In this paragraph -

People have stated, well what is the issue, surely morally you should pay the taxes that the amount you earn reflects. But the main issue is that being inside IR35 means you have to pay the Income tax and National insurance of a normal employee, with none of the benefits; I will still have no holiday pay, still no sick pay, no pension contributions, no bonuses, nothing. You are allowed 5% of the company earnings as your expenses, which is woefully inadequate. Most contractors operate businesses, legitimate risk taking businesses and have to supply their own equipment, pay for their own hotels, and the costs associated with being away.

In the sentence highlighted put "no training" instead of "no bonuses". This is because lots of public sector employees get sent on training courses and get encouraged to do qualifications which the department pays for, but not all department's give people bonuses. I also know contractors who have in the past been given a one of extra payment for meeting a legal deadline by a goverment department.

In your final paragraph if you have done any training courses in the last couple of years then mention it and the cost.