Ross Thompson's Loan Charge Suspension Petition

[Simon100]

Please sign and distribute the petition linked below related to the Loan Charge 2019. Your support would be greatly appreciated.

The 2019 Loan Charge which was introduced by the Finance (No. 2) Act 2017. The 2019 Loan Charge is effectively a back tax, and HMRC have demanded that all those affected must pay the charge in the 2019-2020 tax year despite these loans, being perfectly legal, were promoted by financial advisors, accountants and other financial specialists. The reality is that if the policy continues unamended, there will be many bankruptcies, at a significant cost to the taxpayer. Some individuals affected will be unable to work again, following a bankruptcy, and quite a number that we are aware of are already retired. The human impact, which is becoming increasingly apparent, will be serious. There is significant concern about the Loan Charge, its fairness and its impact on those affected. With such people now being pursued for tax in respect of these closed years, it is not only undeniably retrospective but also simply wrong. It undermines the basic principle of tax certainty that underpins the UK tax system.


Petition to suspend the Loan Charge | Ross Thomson

[SueEllen]

Nope.

PAY YOUR TAXES !

[Simon100]

May I POLITELY ask if you're fully conversed on the topic? If not, and before judging me, can you please do some research?

[FIERCE TANK BATTLE]

The reality is that if the policy continues unamended, there will be many bankruptcies, at a significant cost to the taxpayer.

Seems ironic given that the money HMRC is demanding is literally taxpayer money, courtesy of their original tax evasion...

[Old Greg]

May I POLITELY ask if you're fully conversed on the topic? If not, and before judging me, can you please do some research?

WSES

The Loan Charge is IMO an entirely fair and proportionate response to contractors who both:

- Aggressively avoided taxes, while still retaining the same rights to consume public services; and
- Lowered their cost base, allowing them to undercut honest contractors.

If these views are a trigger for you, may I POLITELY ask if you can return to your safe space.

[stonehenge]

[Simon100]

I, like yourself am entitled to my views. I see no need to insult people online simply because their views don't align with mine.

I'd like to know if you'd say the same of anyone that operated through a limited company? A number of these people certainly didn't and don't pay the same amount of PAYE that a fully employed person does? Where do you draw the line between avoided tax and aggresively avoided tax?

[MasterBait]

Not going to support the tax avoiders

[NotAllThere]

Seems ironic given that the money HMRC is demanding is literally taxpayer money, courtesy of their original tax evasion avoidance...

FTFY
@Simon100 If you've spent most of the time on this forum in the HMRC Scheme Enquiries, you may have got the mistaken idea that most contractors are sympathetic with the users of loan schemes. Maybe they are, but a goodly number are not. Since they're not allowed to express their views in the HMRC Scheme Enquiries subforum, you're likely to get robust responses in General. In fact, in general, in General, nobody is ever nice to anyone.

Where do you draw the line between avoided tax and aggressively avoided tax?

A loan that's never going to be paid off would certainly in my view put it across the line.

[Simon100]

Thanks for the heads up. I'll play along..... I like many have been a contractor for a number of years and operated through an umbrella company for the majority of it. I decided to change when I realised I was figuratively the only person who was declaring myself inside IR35 by operating in this manner. Perhaps, I should have gone down the limited company route! I'm not looking for sympathy though, I'm simply asking that people look into it themselves and make an informed decision before calling them scum.

BTW, I myself am specifically concerned about the retrospective nature of the Loan Charge. The way I see it is, how would a lot of people on here feel if HMRC decided that 95% of all contractors were inside IR35, and they were going to tax them accordingly for the previous 20 years? All while removing the individuals right to the courts?