At a4c we are still digesting the full details of the Autumn Statement and waiting for clarification on some of the points raised, however here is a section of Mr George Osborne’s transcript which is likely to be the most significant to you as a contractor or small business owener:
“Mr Speaker, having sound public finances also means making sure that we collect the taxes that are due. Most wealthy people pay their taxes and make a huge contribution to funding our public services. The latest figures show that 30 per cent of all income tax is paid by just 1 per cent of taxpayers. We’ve given incentives to enterprise, cut punitive tax rates.
But alongside those paying the most tax are those who try to avoid paying their fair share of tax. So today we set out in detail the largest package of measures to tackle tax avoidance, tax evasion, fraud and error so far this Parliament. Together it will raise over £9 billion over the next five years.
We’re going to tackle the growth of intermediaries disguising employment as false self employment, depriving workforces of basic employment rights like the minimum wage in a bid to avoid employer national insurance.
We’ll halve the final period exemption for capital gains tax private residence relief. We will end the abuse of dual contracts, offshore oil and gas contracting, derivatives linked to profits and share buy backs.
And we will ensure the tax advantages of partnerships aren’t abused either.
We are introducing a new, limited power that requires people to pay upfront their taxes where the scheme they used has already been struck down by the courts.
We are going to strengthen Whitehall’s capacity to prevent error and tackle fraud in the benefit and tax credit systems, and expand their efforts to recover money that is owed.”
As with many other commentators, at a4c our interpretation of this is that the IR35 legislation will be affected and therefore we will be keeping a close eye on this in the coming weeks and months.
To find our more about IR35 and how it might affect you read our IR35 guide.
For more information on the Autumn Statement or any other accounting queries please don’t hesitate to give us a call on 01737 652 852.