umbrella Articles

Changes are coming to Public Sector contracting in April 2017.

The key area which could affect your company in April will be the following;

Change
From 1^st April this year many Limited Company Contractors working on a contract for a Public Sector institution will be classed as “Inside IR35” which means that the income from that contract will be taxed as if it was employment income. This can drastically increase the tax burden on the company.

Nick Holmes, Umbrella.co.uk CEO, presented Jen Hughes, Regional Fundraiser, and the Wish Bear a cheque at our Wilmslow head office.

"Thank you so much to all the staff at Umbrella.co.uk. The money you have raised will help to grant a magical wish for a very deserving child and will give their family memories to last a lifetime."  Jen Hughes

“Umbrella.co.uk are proud to continue to support When You Wish Upon a Star during 2017. We are looking forward to some fun fundraising activities including the Wilmslow Triathlon, dress down days and an office Lego Fire Walk. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the team at Umbrella.co.uk for their generosity and enthusiasm.” Nicholas Holmes, CEO.

As you may already be aware the Autumn Statement delivered a number of measures which effect the contracting sector including changes to IR35 and the VAT Flat Rate Scheme. The government has published a new policy document detailing the changes to IR35 and off-payroll working rules for public sector workers. View document here.

The Changes

PSC or “Limited Company” Contractors operating in the public sector will no longer get a say on whether or not the IR35 ‘intermediaries’ legislation’ applies to them. Consequently if they chose to continue being paid via their limited company, the contractor’s intermediary (Agency / Public sector body) will have to agree to deduct the appropriate TAX and National insurance as the ‘fee payer’.

The dawn of the New Year took on a somewhat bum note for business drivers and other motorists thanks to a double whammy of cost increases to swallow, with a headline from the BBC¹ reporting that ‘fuel prices hit 18-month high after OPEC production cuts’ and ITV News stating ‘drivers face most expensive petrol prices in two years’. The 24% jump in the price of oil seen from mid-November to the end of December contributed to petrol and diesel prices increasing by over 3p per litre during the festive month.