How we can get political backing

[HMRC made Atlas Shrug]

A point up for discussion.

The short and sweet on how I see things, this whole mess we are in is HMmafia's fault.

HMRC started this mess with IR35 on contractors. (We all know the long list of facts why we were not employees.)
HMRC are writing the unfair duplicitous rules we have to follow. (See HMRC's tax rules, not even HMRC understand them.)
HMRC is the referee in the game.
HMRC advise in their own communications to seek professional advice (in my case I was told had a QC's blessing), which I did and followed and ended up in a loan scheme.
HMRC took many years before 'coming out', costing us even more in interest.
HMRC refuse to tell people how they will apply (or even followed) their own rules.

My point. Who seriously thinks the professionals stand a chance in this stacked game against HMRC. What we need is political backing, someone to stop HMRC.

But as we've all seen the good old unbiased fair British media
has done a good jobs of turning all tax planing, no matter how legal, into a toxic lawbreaking criminal activity no politician will touch. So how do we get political backing, the magic word is votes.

I saw an article where HMRC said there are around 60,000 (or was it 80,000) people they are going after that were involved in these schemes. When you get to those numbers I would say it is 100% HMRC's fault.

60,000 . . . . voters !!! Most have wives / husbands / children of voting age. If we could get enough people to sign a petition for the politicians to stop this

The petition should:
1 - Explain how we got here and why HMRC is to blame (the history).
2 - The facts of why what we did was legal according to UK law.
3 - We will not vote for any political party that does not come out against HMRC in these endeavours.

Think about it in the current balance of votes. Which party is going to tell 60,000+ voters to ugger off.

[malvolio]

Fascinating. 20 years too late, but hey...

There are several bodies attacking HMG over the whole support for contractors thing. They simply aren't listening.

[stonehenge]

The country is strapped for cash.

And you couldn't find easier targets to squeeze than us. We got paid in tax free loans FFS.

Don't expect a single ounce of support from politicians.

[flamel]

There is an alternative to a petition which has been proven to have exactly the same success rate:

Find an empty field in the middle of nowhere, look up at the sky and shout very loudly until you have a sore throat.


Then go and soothe your throat with a bottle of Bollinger, knowing that there's 40 quid less that HMRC will get when they make you destitute.

[NotAllThere]

...
Then go and soothe your throat with a bottle of Bollinger, knowing that there's 40 quid less that HMRC will get when they make you destitute.

Make sure it's Bollinger you bought in Duty Free, so they don't even get the VAT.

[LondonManc]

IR35 was drafted by a consultancy.
The consultancies back the Tories.
The consultancies are now benefiting from IR35 changes in the public sector.

Start with asking about the conflict of interest that took place 20 years ago; that's about the only way you'd get it all unraveled.

[stonehenge]

Which party is going to tell 60,000+ voters to ugger off.

Which party is going to want to be seen siding with 60,000+ people, who got paid in loans, thereby depriving the Exchequer of several £billion in tax?

Unless, of course, this is the party you had in mind:
https://www.omrlp.com

[webberg]

If it's any help, it's taken us close on three years of patient, behind the scenes, persuasion and submitting evidence to accumulate a list of around 30 MPs who have expressed support.

That list has those who have said that they will go public and those who have said that they will write to Ministers and those who are simply mopping the brow of constituents.

I'm not sure we can rely upon any of them.

Many will put party before constituent and the slim majority of the blue side, the internal divisions of the red side and the rather single issue partisan objectives of the smaller parties are all unhelpful features.

Younger MPs with ambition of high office will not rock the boat. Older MPs who are backbenchers will perhaps have one eye on the Lords and other sinecures. Those who have decided that Parliament is no longer for them, are likely to be regarded as an irritant by the party leaders.

This is however a route that has to be ploughed and we are.

[handyandy]

... a bottle of Bollinger, knowing that there's 40 quid ...

Seriously Dahhhrling, what vintag are you drinking to get it at that price?

[stonehenge]

This is however a route that has to be ploughed and we are.

If nothing else, it keeps the piper's followers occupied.