Up to 90%

[cojak]

1.

The merest sniff of HMRC interest and they'll shut down and begin again with a slight name change, persuade the old punters to join them and then use Blagget and Sue solicitors to try to bully contractor forums from letting those punters complain that they've got 6 figure tax demands...

[DonkeyRhubarb]

This well-known umbrella I'm talking about that my friend is using has been around for a lot of years.

How is even possible that it seems to be doing business as usual? I recon it may have thousands of users, so how many of them should become a target of HMRC for this umbrella to close down?

If your friend is getting over 80% then this is not a regular PAYE umbrella.

There is nothing on the website about how they achieve this level of retention but I would suspect it's bound to involved some artificial/contrived arrangement.

If it has been going for as long as you say, with that many users, then it is very surprising that HMRC aren't crawling all over it.

[flamel]

I think you're right but they ought to in the same way the Police care about drug dealers. Without the providers (dealers) there are no users.

Until they move to the darknet that is....

[flamel]

Don't forget the tax authority sock puppets here who post snippets to keep everyone from having a good night's sleep... in perpetuity.

I have noticed that many of my contractor colleagues have never heard of this forum and many still have no idea whatsoever about scheme enquiries / APNs / retrospective legislation etc etc etc.

That may explain why, out of the tens of thousands of contractors caught by this, that the mods here are not totally inundated.

[flamel]

1.

The merest sniff of HMRC interest and they'll shut down and begin again with a slight name change, persuade the old punters to join them and then use Blagget and Sue solicitors to try to bully contractor forums from letting those punters complain that they've got 6 figure tax demands...

I always use Dowie Scalpem and Howe...

[AnotherGuy]

If your friend is getting over 80% then this is not a regular PAYE umbrella.

There is nothing on the website about how they achieve this level of retention but I would suspect it's bound to involved some artificial/contrived arrangement.

If it has been going for as long as you say, with that many users, then it is very surprising that HMRC aren't crawling all over it.

Yes, he is getting something around 85% based on his conversation.

It has something to do with a loan, and apparently there is something going on through Hong Kong. So yes, very fishy obviously, that's why I went the LTD way myself.

And yes, very surprising HMRC seems to do nothing with it, we are talking more than 7 or 8 years my friend has been under this umbrella...

[DonkeyRhubarb]

Yes, he is getting something around 85% based on his conversation.

It has something to do with a loan, and apparently there is something going on through Hong Kong. So yes, very fishy obviously, that's why I went the LTD way myself.

And yes, very surprising HMRC seems to do nothing with it, we are talking more than 7 or 8 years my friend has been under this umbrella...

I suspect the scheme has flown under the radar (so far) because:

1) it was not disclosed to HMRC under DOTAS
2) there was no mention of the loans on any tax returns

HMRC can go back many years, and even further if they believe there was deliberate concealment.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Apparently their scheme is very simple - you have a limited company and you're an employee and you're outside IR35 This is the explanation:

We operate as a Contractor Solutions Company. ****** act as introducers to reputable accountants and payroll providers who can offer exceptional rates and services to contractors with fixed term contracts, which don’t bring all the tax benefits associated with having just your own Limited Company. Our contractor pay solutions ensure that you get all the tax benefits (and more) that come with a Limited Company without all the associated admin burdens. At the same time, you enjoy full employment rights, usually reserved for those in permanent employment. It also means that as an employee you are outside of IR35 legislation, so no worries there!

You can enjoy all the benefits of being in a full time, permanent job because YOU ARE! Using one of our backoffice payroll solutions mean you are classed as being in full time permanent employment and so entitled to all the same benefits enjoyed by your permanently employed colleagues including SSP, holiday pay plus maternity/paternity and adoption leave. Plus, you are outside of IR35 whilst retaining your freedom in the contracting world.

There are many benefits to using our contractor solutions company. Not least the reduction of paperwork. Using a solution such as ****** you can also increase your take home amount AND reduce your tax burden. It’s true that having your own limited company offers you freedom, but the old fashioned way always costs you money. Switch to the ****** solution and you have control in your limited company but protection through employment.

[DonkeyRhubarb]

Using one of our backoffice payroll solutions...

Euphemism for tax avoidance scheme.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Euphemism for tax avoidance scheme.

Surprised the haven't got a QC opinion - must be dodgy