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Government sources told the Daily Mail and Guardian that a new test forcing employers to become responsible for deciding how contractors should be treated for tax purposes will be announced in the Autumn Statement.(See: New idea for freelancer crackdown would cause 'untold damage' - Shout99, Nov 2015)
APSCo has also lambasted HMRC for disregarding the views of industry and representative groups within the IR35 Forum. It claims that they fail to consult on anything of significance, that it uses the group as a 'tick box exercise to make them look good' and decribes HMRC's bevaiour as 'appalling'.
Window dressing
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She said: “One of the main recommendations that came out of the Select Committee was that HMRC should liaise more closely with the IR35 Forum to ensure that proper engagement with business and relevant stakeholders was taking place before any decisions were made.
“HMRC has NOT been liaising with the Forum in the way that they have been told to – and in the way that they told the House of Lords that they would. They have cancelled our next meeting and, as confirmed in a letter we have seen from David Gauke MP, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, have made decisions around an online digital service apparently to ‘help IR35 customers work out whether the rules apply to them.’
"While this was mentioned in passing at a recent meeting as an idea, there has been no real discussion or consultation. It is patently clear that HMRC sees the Forum as nothing more than window dressing – a tick box exercise to make them look good when in fact if there are any decisions to be made they simply close ranks and cease to engage. It is truly appalling behaviour.
“We have already seen how disastrous the now defunct (at our recommendation) Business Entity Tests were in determining whether IR35 applied and without any consultation with the business community, this tool is destined to go the same way. It is also very interesting that the letter was sent just five days after the deadline for responses to HMRC’s so called ‘discussion document’ consultation around IR35 proposals which tends to suggests to me that they have already made their mind up and have simply run roughshod over any attempt at a proper consultation process.
"APSCo will be writing in the strongest possible terms to the House of Lords Liaison Committee to inform them of this wilful disregard.”
See also: Lords PSC Report: Summary and recommendations - Shout99, April 2014)
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Susie Hughes © Shout99 2015
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