Apr / 22
In light of the Covid-19 crisis, HMRC has written to a number of taxpayers and businesses under investigation to say they are suspending their IR35 enquiries. The correspondence says that during the current lockdown, HMRC will not request information or press for responses to existing requests. It’s thought that HMRC are experiencing capacity issues while
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Apr / 21
Last week, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced that the lockdown would be extended for ‘at least’ three weeks, while Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Jenny Harries previously warned that measures could last up to six months. With many businesses putting projects on indefinite hold, contractors may find themselves unable to work in their usual industry.
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Apr / 16
A new government scheme will protect contingent workers in the public sector if they can’t work during the Covid-19 pandemic. The government announced details of the scheme, which will apply if a public sector contractor is prevented from working due to temporary office closure, sickness or isolation. The scheme seeks to safeguard critical public sector
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Apr / 9
A new Counter Disinformation Cell led by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is coordinating an extensive crackdown on the rapid spread of false coronavirus information. Made up of experts from across government and the tech sector, the Cell is engaging with social media platforms and with ‘disinformation’ specialists to respond to misleading
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Apr / 3
Many public organisations such as HMRC, BBC and FCA are warning of on a surge in scam emails and texts during the Covid-19 panidemic. Con-artists are using the inevitable financial anxiety, disruption and confusion in the midst of the crisis to exploit people’s vulnerability. Many of these scams have been around for a while and
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Mar / 31
Following accusations that the self-employed were being left out in the cold during the Covid-19 epidemic, the government has responded with new measures to protect this sector. On March 26th, the Chancellor announced news of the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, which see the relief on offer to the self-employed achieve parity with that offered to
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Mar / 30
Many of the companies who adopted blanket IR35 policies that forced contractors out of their limited companies and onto the payroll are reversing their decisions. The U-turn came after news that the government would be delaying the reforms until April 2021in order to help businesses and contractors cope with the impact of coronavirus. The delay of
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Mar / 27
Much remains up in the air regarding the government’s package of measures to support businesses during the Covid-19 outbreak. However, one measure that could significantly help limited company contractors is the announcement that Vat and Income Tax payments due between now and the end of June will be deferred for three months. This means that
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Mar / 26
As the government steps up measures to respond to the Coronavirus epidemic, we select updates that might be of particular relevance to contractors. Current Situation On March 23 the Prime Minister placed the UK into lockdown, meaning that people can only leave their homes to shop for essentials, exercise outdoors once per day, receive medical
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