Reply to: Your plan for worst case scenario

[LondonManc]

An unofficial strike - I'd go for it in principle, unfortunately, most of our clients would just fire us.

Advising unavailability all at the same time wouldn't be a strike as such

[MarkT]

When Osborne's dreaded day of implementation arrives (April?), perhaps we could persuade our fellow contractors to take a few weeks worth of non-working days off all in one go.........it would just be a well deserved break after all.

Were 50k contractors (or however many there are of us) to take a break from the stress of it all to consider options at the same time, it would surely afford business and the government a little more time to reflect further on exactly how unnecessary our niche of economic activity really is. Maybe, if wheels were to start falling off the IT bus after a week or so, our voice might suddenly become a tad louder.

A bit gardening leave in April sunshine for us all......perfect.

An unofficial strike - I'd go for it in principle, unfortunately, most of our clients would just fire us.

[wildebeest]

Some non working days

When Osborne's dreaded day of implementation arrives (April?), perhaps we could persuade our fellow contractors to take a few weeks worth of non-working days off all in one go.........it would just be a well deserved break after all.

Were 50k contractors (or however many there are of us) to take a break from the stress of it all to consider options at the same time, it would surely afford business and the government a little more time to reflect further on exactly how unnecessary our niche of economic activity really is. Maybe, if wheels were to start falling off the IT bus after a week or so, our voice might suddenly become a tad louder.

A bit gardening leave in April sunshine for us all......perfect.

[MrMarkyMark]

Definitely... because I'm interviewing for it today and am gonna beat you to it!

Too late guys, they've offshored it .

[northernladuk]

So you're saying to hang fire on that shelf stacking job at asda? Even after I did so well in the interview?

Definitely... because I'm interviewing for it today and am gonna beat you to it!

[Snarf]

We don't know. How about wait until we do before making a decision rather than flailing in the dark?

So you're saying to hang fire on that shelf stacking job at asda? Even after I did so well in the interview?

[Gaz_M]

If it all goes tits up tomorrow I'll carry on but invest heavily into Plan B in the hope it takes off much quicker than my 4 year forecast.

[MarkT]

6. Wait for the impact, assess it with my accountant and look at any possible workarounds and implement them to a level they are comfortable with supporting.

Or

7. Implement an offshore solution and restructure my business to the best tax-advantageous position.

My accountant doesn't seem that bothered, thinks it'll be a pigs breakfast and won't actually be implementable, especially the 1 month thing.

[meridian]

6. Wait for the impact, assess it with my accountant and look at any possible workarounds and implement them to a level they are comfortable with supporting.

Or

7. Implement an offshore solution and restructure my business to the best tax-advantageous position.

[SandyD]

Not worrying, just considering options, every business should have contingency plans, forecasts etc.

[chopper]

There are known knowns. That is there are things that we know that we know.
There there are known unknowns. That is there are things that we know that we do not know.
Then there are unknown unknowns. That is there are things that we do not know that we do not know.
(Are there any unknown knowns? Things we do not know that we know?)

Tomorrow is a known unknown - we know that we do not know how Gideon plans to thank Tory voting contractors for their votes back in May. (I didn't vote Tory, but I suspect more than 37% of contractors did).

No point in trying to come up with contingencies today. He isn't going to make contracting impossible (that I'm fairly certain of), but he is going to make disguised permiedom very unattractive indeed. The sledgehammer used to crack that nut will probably have dire implications for the rest of us, the worst case scenario being that we all end up paying tax like permies. I don't think it'll end up quite that bad, it just wont be the hay that we've all been making whilst the sun has been shining, the dividend tax alone has seen to that.

The main thing will be whether we will be expected to account for the personal tax level as and when we bill our clients, or will we still be accounting for the personal tax when transferred from our businesses to ourselves?

One thing is for sure, as a breed we have a vastly higher day rate and in addition to that we also have a lower tax rate by a significant margin due to no Employer or Employee NICs (saving us 25%) and not paying higher rate tax when we don't need to. If that lower tax rate is eaten away, then we'll still have our vastly higher day rates to make up the difference. For sure, it wont be as lucrative as it has been, but contracting will still be better than permiedom. And for those who are disguised permies and shouldn't be limited company contractors, then this will probably be a chance to return to the employment rights you deserve.

So whatever happens tomorrow, it mostly isn't going to kick in for 6-18 months if concrete decisions are announced (rather than some discussion proposals) so losing sleep over it tonight isn't going to help matters. Worrying today will merely stop you from enjoying the things that are there to enjoy. (e.g. a £150 tab for the christmas do. That I am going to enjoy).

[Danglekt]

1 with a fall back of 2

[RSoles]

We don't know. How about wait until we do before making a decision rather than flailing in the dark?

Yeah, all this planning ahead malarkey is just cheating after all.

[FiveTimes]

I've been looking at option 3 for a while, but I think I might pursue is a little stronger.

[dynamicsaxcontractor]

It all depends how bad it gets tomorrow, but one things is for sure - I am not going back to perm.