PGMOL, FTT v2

[Protagoras]

So HMRC has at last given up and will not further appeal.

The good news is that they won't be wasting more taxpayers' money on this.

In a fair world, PGMOL would have their costs reimbursed.

[ladymuck]

what, or who is PGMOL???

Professional Game Match Officials Limited - they supply referees for premier league and English football league matches.

Long running issue about whether referees are employees of this company or not. This week, they're not.

[willendure]

... I do worry that HMRC is going to waste more tax payers' money ...

Don't worry - its not like they are going to run out !

[ladymuck]

It was never a case that would translate well to the bum-on-seat IT contractor. I'm glad the FTT saw sense but I do worry that HMRC is going to waste more tax payers' money continuing to flog this dead horse.

[willendure]

Interesting. The write up is pretty long so I made a little summary. Most of it does not translate into the typical IT contractor situation very well though ?

Independent professional judgment
Referees controlled how they performed the core task on match day and exercised their own expertise without employer-style supervision.
Regulatory control, not managerial control
The rules and standards came mainly from football regulators, not from PGMOL acting like an employer directing employees.
Freedom to accept or reject work
Referees could choose whether to take matches and could even withdraw after accepting without major consequence.
No ongoing obligation between engagements
Each match was a separate engagement. PGMOL did not have to offer work, and referees did not have to accept it.
Lack of economic dependence/integration
Most referees had other main jobs and were not financially dependent on PGMOL, making them look less like employees integrated into a business.

[eek]

The bill is going to be £1.5m or so you need to have a rich organisation fighting your corner.

[malvolio]

For comparison, the Arctic Systems case which followed a similar path,was reportedly arond £700k. That was 20 years ago....

[Protagoras]

While I'm sure it's all very interesting from a legal perspective, the original sum alleged due as tax was just shy of £600k.

I wonder how much the process of trying to recover this has cost; FTT, UT, Appeal and Supreme Court time and representation costs will I suspect have been chunky. Only for FTT v2 to reach the same conclusion as FTT v1 albeit with additional clarifications.

While the FTT v2 judgement is superbly reasoned and clear, I can't help but wonder whether this whole process really provides tax-payer value for money.

I do hope that PGMOL is able to recover costs.