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| CURRENT SECTION :: IR35 / IR591 |
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A government minister refused to reveal the return and reach of the Revenue’s IR35 investigations for fear the disclosure might cause more people to flout the legislation. In one of her final Commons appearances before she resigned, Treasury minister Kitty Ussher said providing official records on IR35 could spark non-compliance. She was responding to a parliamentary question from Labour MP Terry Rooney, who asked how many IR35 investigations have been launched within the last five years. The MP for Bradford North also asked Miss Ussher how many of those IR35 investigations resulted in prosecution, an increase in tax due or no further action. The minister responded: “Disclosure of HM Revenue and Customs' compliance data relating to the legislation would result in a risk of non- compliance with the legislation. Accordingly I am not able to provide the data requested.” The refusal is likely to disappoint the Professional Contractors Group, which recently forced the government to reveal that enforcing IR35 returns a measly £1.5m a year. Speaking at the time, PCG policy researcher George Anastasi said that proving IR35 was not cost-effective was vital to help convince ministers that it should be scrapped. He told CUK: “We want to get a full picture on the cost of IR35 to government. If we can demonstrate that IR35 may not only cost more to enforce than it meaningfully raises in revenue, but also that it has essentially been unenforceable and a failure, then it would add to our lobbying arsenal significantly.” Jul 24, 2009 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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