Government to review IR35 for private sector – AAT’s Brian Palmer reacts
8 January 2020
The Government has announced a review into changes to IR35 off-payroll working rules, set to come into force on 6 April 2020. Commenting, Brian Palmer, tax policy expert for AAT, said:
“AAT has consistently observed IR35 should only be rolled out to the private sector after allowing businesses sufficient time to adequately prepare for such a change and to ensure that software companies also have time to build the required handling changes into their payroll/contractor payment processing products. Given the problems faced over IR35 in the public sector, our message remains not to rush this in.”
He continued:
“Given all that has happened on the Brexit front during the last twelve months, it is a more than a little disappointing that the Government has not taken the opportunity to press pause on the introduction of IR35 to the private sector, in order to ease the ever increasing compliance burden born by UK businesses at this very challenging time.
“However, it doesn’t come as a complete shock that the projected £3bn boost to the public purse in extra tax revenue over a four year period has proved too big a temptation to the Government, who seem determined to carry on regardless."
