Contractors Articles

HMRC has won a tribunal case against a contractor loan scheme promoted by Hyrax Resourcing Ltd.

Hyrax Resourcing will now be forced to disclose the details of 1,180 ‘high earners’ that use the scheme and help the tax authority claim back more than £40 million in unpaid taxes.

The scheme in question was a disguised remuneration tax avoidance scheme that paid users in loans so that they could avoid paying income tax and National Insurance contributions on their earnings.

The staff at Umbrella.co.uk have collected and delivered much needed items to our local food bank, Food Friend, based at St Bartholomews in Wilmslow.

Food Friend is run and organised by St Bartholomew's Church and provides short term assistance and support to individuals and families in Wilmslow. Illness, disability, family breakdown or the loss of a job could happen to any of us.

The Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered his annual Spring Statement on Wednesday, providing an update on the state of the economy and announcing several minor policy updates.

Although the Spring Statement doesn’t have the kind of wholesale policy announcements that are characteristic of the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor did have some important news for contractors and professional employment service providers.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the most important issues for the sector.

HMRC has launched a fresh consultation on changes to off-payroll Intermediaries Legislation (IR35), due to take effect in the private sector from April 2020.

The changes would see reforms introduced in the public sector in 2017 extended to the private sector.

The change will affect contractors that operate through an intermediary like a limited company or personal service company (PSC).

Instead of judging their own IR35 status, the private sector organisation that engages the contract will make this decision. It could mean that more contractors are deemed ‘inside IR35’ and liable to  pay income tax and National Insurance contributions.