The election result may herald a positive note for contractors affected by the forthcoming off-payroll (IR35) reforms.
Earlier this month, the Chancellor pledged to review the proposed reforms. When interviewed by Radio 4’s Money Box programme, Sajid Javid, who has retained his seat in the election, stated that there would be a review of the proposed reforms if the Conservatives won the General Election.
He told the programme: “One thing in particular I want to look at is the proposed changes to IR35, these are the tax rules that apply to many self-employed people, particularly those that work as consultants… I want to make sure that the proposed changes are right to take forward so we will be having a review of those proposals and changes as part of our wider self-employment review.”
We are mindful that the reforms would have a significant impact on the UK’s contractor workforce and have made representation on behalf of our customers to HMRC and other government departments.
The proposed reforms are due to come into effect in April 2020 so if a review is going to take place, it would need to happen quickly, so it’s wise to continue to prepare for the reforms to go ahead in their current guise.
We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you informed. However, if you have any queries about any aspect of IR35 or the reform and would like to speak to a member of our expert team, please get in touch.