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HMRC want to hear from us

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    HMRC want to hear from us

    Today I received an email from HMRC (I subscribe to their help and support emails) which given the current potential changes to T&S etc. I thought might be worth publishing on here. A verbatum copy of the email is as follows:


    Hello Subscriber,
    The Government has appointed Julie Deane OBE, Founder and CEO of The Cambridge Satchel Company, to carry out an independent review into self-employment.
    As part of her review Julie wants to shine a light on the contribution that self-employed people make to the UK economy and recommend what more can be done to support self-employed people in the UK.
    Whatever your occupation or business model, if you work for yourself, Julie wants to hear from you.
    Your comments will be used to form the recommendations that Julie will make in her report to the UK Government. So please do take this opportunity to share your experiences. In total, the survey should take no more than 20 minutes to complete.

    A link to the survey is as follows:
    https://bisgovuk.citizenspace.com/en...orate/sereview

    So if you would like to take part and let the government how we contribute to the UK economy follow the link.

    #2
    I got this a few weeks ago. My answers could be summarised as "you can help us by stop trying to wipe us from the face of the earth".

    Comment


      #3
      That is pretty much my response to every question phrased appropriately according to the actual question. If we want to be heard on this issue then we need to complete these surverys rather than just moan about it on forums like this. There is one specific question in the survey that deals with disguised employment and a nice big free text box for you to say exactly what you think.

      Comment


        #4
        I feel better now I've had a bit of a rant.

        Comment


          #5
          Is there a way of getting this link made more visible on ContractorUK? Could it go on the front page?
          Rule Number 1 - Assuming that you have a valid contract in place always try to get your poo onto your timesheet, provided that the timesheet is valid for your current contract and covers the period of time that you are billing for.

          I preferred version 1!

          Comment


            #6
            The report is out.

            Summary here

            Cambridge Satchel Company boss warns David Cameron self-employed feel like 'second-class citizens'

            Original here

            https://www.gov.uk/government/public...loyment-review


            Some interesting points -

            "Clarity on the description of 'self-employed' to take into account the wide variety of individuals and sectors that it applies to with a single definition for tax and employment law"

            "Currently an Impact Assessment is carried out to calculate the impact that new policies will have on different sectors. Self-employment is not one of these sectors and it should be."

            It also emphasises that most work for themselves because they want to, and do so for independence, flexibility and control of their own future, and not because they can't find a "proper" job.
            Last edited by mudskipper; 14 February 2016, 11:07.

            Comment


              #7
              So is the direction of travel we lose some tax breaks but gain in other areas such as maternity/paternity?

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by SussexSeagull View Post
                So is the direction of travel we lose some tax breaks but gain in other areas such as maternity/paternity?
                Nope.

                They need to define who is self-employed first.
                "You’re just a bad memory who doesn’t know when to go away" JR

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by SueEllen View Post
                  Nope.

                  They need to define who is self-employed first.
                  Possibly best not too hold our breaths then.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by SussexSeagull View Post
                    So is the direction of travel we lose some tax breaks but gain in other areas such as maternity/paternity?
                    I don't see it like that. Maternity pay is an issue for the self employed, less so for contractors as our entitlement is the same as any other employee - in practice if we're taking a low salary, we ain't gonna get much, but that's how we choose to operate.

                    I think the suggestion to align employment and tax status could be a positive - a client will have to think about whether they want an employee or a B2B relationship, and structure the contract and working practices accordingly. At the moment it could be argued that we get the worst of both worlds if IR35 caught. But as always, the devil will be in the detail - the flip side is that it could result in a big rise in FTCs.

                    Comment

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