Brexit Views on HMRC sheme enquiries

[jonnieboy]

I will be voting "leave". Our politicians are Goddamned-awful but I still think that the democratically elected Government of this country should be able to enact laws without interference from Brussels.

[LondonManc]

Public leave vote = Max(actual leave vote, 49)

This will be the biggest farce since Mugabe let someone stand against him in an election.

I'd vote leave if it means that we can do things like buying the steel industry back off Tata and use it for the HS2/HS3 projects. Instant jobs and employment for years. Our manual workers need a sense of pride again. We have a lot of grafters out there who feel downtrodden.

[BattleCry]

Please sign the attached e-petition

STOP CAMERON spending British taxpayers’ money on Pro-EU Referendum leaflets

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/116762

[webberg]

Please sign the attached e-petition

STOP CAMERON spending British taxpayers’ money on Pro-EU Referendum leaflets

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/116762

Is it not a bit late?

He had today's photo op clutching a leaflet.

[BattleCry]

Is it not a bit late?

He had today's photo op clutching a leaflet.

The 16 page glossy leaflets will be mass printed and posted next week. 9 million is being spent on this.

The petition is gaining about 5000 signatures an hour. :-)

[Flashman]

For many contractors unwittingly or otherwise caught up in the Schemes under dispute with HMRC such as EBT loans. The current landscape is looking a little bleak.

I wondered how this might feed into other contractor's opinions regarding the upcoming EU referendum and wanted to express my own views.

In my mind certainly, voting to stay in, is voting for the status quo – Nothing will change for us and the HMRC juggernaut will continue to steamroller contractor lives and those of their families.

On the other hand Brexit would mean a shakeup for the Economy, All Government Departments (HMRC), Probably Scottish Referendum, and a massive Legal System review – Lawyers are already planning how they would need to rewrite everything to disentangle us from EU influence should voting dictate this (There are only so many legal professionals and there are Many tax cases in a queue). Yes there could be a few years of chaos and re-ordering but sometimes it is important to sweep away the old and replace with something better. At the very least it could buy contractors facing financial uncertainty/ruin more time to plan ahead and secure their futures.

Contractors are the most flexible workers in the UK and will move wherever the work is. Who knows a shakeup could well change the political landscape to one that is more favorable to our plight. The tax system needs reform to a more forward looking outlook (more prevention and less retrospective litigation/action) There also needs to be a greater apportionment of any blame/liability from the past. This should be shared between HMRC/Government/scheme users and scheme promoters. An amnesty and a new start would be are brightest hope/best option all round. Anything we can do that might make that more likely I would be in favour of. For instance New Leadership in the form of Borris Johnson/Someone else or a resurgent Lib Dem party holding the balance of power again may have a more sympathetic ear for our views/situation but who knows really, but it's important to create a space so that positive change can happen. I know I'd be firmly behind anyone who would take up this cause. No one knows what the future holds but everyone has influence.

Yes this would be single issue voting but for many here this is the only all-consuming issue of their lives right now.
I'd be interested to know other people's views on the matter. And who knows this idea might catch on – If you like it please feel free to re-post on other boards or pages here.

It would sadden me though to see George Osbourne's (The architect of so much of our misery) plans to become PM, punctured so cruelly.

Whatever people decide our community is a powerful set of analysts, thinkers, communicators and wealth generators and we have influence on other voters that we can discreetly choose to exercise through friends, family, colleagues, and to reach out with our views on social media. This vote will be very close and we may find that we hold some sway on this vote and future votes. Working as a group we could have the same influence as Google/Facebook who seem to be far better treated by HMRC than us resident/voters? And a final thought the true value of facebook/google/Internet - is content. People with IT skills and passionate ideas can shape the future. So build a websites/create a blog and make yourselves heard! EU – I'm OUT! Let's sweep out the old and make a space where anything is again possible.

In my mind the alternative now is to just be a sitting duck.

Well said Mr Battlecry. If we don't vote OUT now they will bury us for sure .

[dingdong]

Jeez people on here are sadly mistaken if they think Brexit is going to have any impact on HMRC coming after them

Any brexit vote will mean the economy tanks and the government is even more desperate for every tax penny it can get - if anything the compliance efforts would step up.

Wide public opinion does not support contractors getting any tax advantages so there is no benefit in any chancellor relaxing the recent clampdown.

[BattleCry]

Jeez people on here are sadly mistaken if they think Brexit is going to have any impact on HMRC coming after them

Any brexit vote will mean the economy tanks and the government is even more desperate for every tax penny it can get - if anything the compliance efforts would step up.

Wide public opinion does not support contractors getting any tax advantages so there is no benefit in any chancellor relaxing the recent clampdown.

Project Fear says the economy will tank

Project Fear wants to Win so that David Cameron and George Osbourne can keep there jobs. Trade is good for us and good for Europe - Trade will continue whatever the vote outcome.

The vote is really about Democratic freedom. One vote moves us towards greater governance (i.e. Accountability and Transparency) The other keeps power with unelected bureaucrats.

There are a lot of vested interests behind all arguments in fairness though

[webberg]

Wide public opinion does not support contractors getting any tax advantages so there is no benefit in any chancellor relaxing the recent clampdown.

I think that's a little wide of the mark?

Public opinion is probably indifferent to whether contractors get an "advantage" for being willing to work without the protection of being an employee. In terms of risk/reward, taking on a little extra risk for a little extra reward (becoming more limited every day) seems acceptable and probably bothers public opinion very little.

Where public opinion has been misinformed and rather led up the garden path is in seeing contractors as a bunch of money obsessed, tax avoiding, devious and dangerous people seeking to undermine the economy. That such a view is held is a victory for the HMRC machine which strangely runs out of things to say when comparisons are drawn with multinational companies, wealthy individuals and politicians who may (or may not) have dabbled in the offshore markets.

My view is that if contractors were told in very plain words, ten years ago, that certain practices were frowned upon and would, ten years later, be seen as tax avoidance, then 90%+ would have changed their ways. They were not. Instead public opinion was fed the line that such a message had been given and ignored - that is a bare faced lie.

Anyhow, off topic - apologies. Little to do with in or out of the EU.

[LandRover]

Jeez people on here are sadly mistaken if they think Brexit is going to have any impact on HMRC coming after them

Any brexit vote will mean the economy tanks and the government is even more desperate for every tax penny it can get - if anything the compliance efforts would step up.

Wide public opinion does not support contractors getting any tax advantages so there is no benefit in any chancellor relaxing the recent clampdown.

It's not HMRC who has driven the merciless attack on contractors...its Cameron, Osborne & Gauke. And guess who loses their jobs if Vote Leave wins?

This is personal. And if you think for one moment the attack is over then your sadly mistaken imho.

Changing the leadership and personnel, just may be the only chance contractors survive going forward.