IR35 Guides - Are you inside or outside IR35?

REC, the recruitment industry body, is to join the Government's IR35 forum, which will oversee HMRC's attempts to improve the way the legislation is administered.

At the last Budget, when presented with three recommendations for the future of IR35, the Chancellor opted to keep the rules in place as the potential tax and National Insurance losses could be "substantial".

However, given the unsuccessful way IR35 has been administered to date, the Government has pledged to publish better guidance to help contractors deal with IR35, to set up a dedicated tax helpline staffed by specialists, and to create a new IR35 Forum which will oversee these proposals.

The Recruitment & Employment Confederation, an independent body, will join the new forum, having played a significant part in the OTS review of IR35, which resulted in the recommendations presented to the Chancellor in March.

"Substantive change in how IR35 works"

Jeff Brooks, Chair of the REC technology sector group commented;

"Taking part in this forum will allow the REC to push for real, substantive change in how IR35 works. We have to find a way to focus the system on the rare cases of actual disguised employment, and make sure that the vast majority of contractors who have done nothing wrong don't have to worry about being subjected to a HMRC investigation or tribunal that could last years.

"It has always been the complexity of the rules, and the uncertainty they create, that has made the system unacceptable for contractors and the recruiters that find them work. This has also wasted countless hours of tax officials' time, and it is in the interests of all sides to find a quicker, more efficient way to crack down on the few real instances of false self-employment."