Ipse - on the budget

[PermMCCon]

This is my view. IPSE are invited to working parties and to participate in consultations, so they've got more chance of being able to make the case for contractors, and in doing so have the opportunity to highlight consequences that haven't been considered, or point out the impact of various policy proposals on the independent workforce. Whether HMG/HMRC take that on board or choose to ignore it is likely to be beyond their control, although their views are more likely to be taken on board if they're seen as helpful rather than obstructive.

I agree with Mud re IPSE. Remember we are not the multi Billion pound car industry who spend tens of millions on lobbying. Hence IPSE voice is advice which the government may or may not choose to listen to.

When you are a government which had to shoulder nearly £1trn of debt from previous mess and needs massive additional tax revenues, it will be difficult not to target us - no matter what IPSE or anyone else tries to advise them...

Saying that, its still a pain in the #ss.

[Zero Liability]

They still find plenty of tulip to spend on, themselves, so my sympathy admittedly runs somewhere close to zero.

[v8gaz]

They still find plenty of tulip to spend on, themselves, so my sympathy admittedly runs somewhere close to zero.

Citation needed, as they say..

[jamesbrown]

Citation needed, as they say..

I'm pretty sure ZL is talking about the gov't, not IPSE.

[NibblyPig]

I think the main gripe is not the specifics of how much % we're losing or whatever, it's just the ambiguity. If they want to raise taxes or whatever then just do it, don't start all this crap about SDC, in/outside IR35 and what defines a business etc. that is so vague and lacks any concrete definitions that a) no-one can truly state if they're inside or outside IR35 because it's all touchy feely who has the best legal representation crap, and b) since no-one has a clue some of the people are in and some are out, some are pretending and some have just chosen to ignore it entirely so the amount of tax they're getting is completely random based on if people have decided they need to pay it or want to roll the dice etc.

It's like everyone is running around like headless chickens, some are hiding under their hutches, others are strutting around all confident they're ok, and some have their heads buried in the chicken feed hoping that no-one bothers them. You can't have a consistent legislatible workforce under these conditions

I want to be able to make a decision on whether contracting is viable or predict how I might manage my company going forward, not be speculating over the 500 variables and how they may or may not be interpreted, it is very unprofessional to legislate in a manner that is not textbook list-of-rules straightforward.

If you commit a crime then there is concrete legislation that they can book you under; there's a lot of it, but it exists and it's not for the most part touchy feely. Can you imagine if it said "A person is guilty of an offense if they are sort of acting shifty and meet 3 out of 5 criteria for possibly doing something wrong"?

"You're parked illegally! Here's a ticket. Oh you have a disabled badge? That's all well and good but I don't see you walking with a limp or anything, so your actual disabled practices don't seem to match up with having a badge, so we're gonna ignore that, got any other proof you're not parked illegally?"

[Zero Liability]

I'm pretty sure ZL is talking about the gov't, not IPSE.

Indeed. Thus the scrounging for pennies by hitting unpopular/unknown groups for extra cash doesn't sit particularly well with me, nevermind eliciting sympathy.