Parliamentary Debate Tuesday 20th November

[webberg]

Commons Business Briefings for 19 to 23 November 2018 - UK Parliament

Thanks to the efforts of LCAG and their supporters (willing be named or otherwise), there is a 90 minute debate scheduled for next Tuesday afternoon.

I salute LCAG's efforts to achieve this.

Let's support them as hard as we can.

The debate will expose the loan charge effects and consequences and how HMRC's "win, regardless of the cost" attitude is pushing people into ill health, divorce, family breakup, insolvency, loss of career etc for the sake of money.

HMRC is an organisation that knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing. (Apologies to Oscar Wilde).

Exposing HMRC practices is one thing. This debate might lead to a delay/withdrawal of the loan charge - who knows.

However withdrawal of the loan charge means that everything resets to two years ago and HMRC may not be inclined to be sensible over their view of liability (especially as they have already robbed contractors of several billion via APNs and a settlement that is arguably in contempt of Court - which they do not want to repay).

We need to press for an enquiry into HMRC performance around contractors and contracting issues, especially their incorrect view on liability and IR35 reform that everybody knows is a disaster waiting to happen.

An inquiry into contractors, their worth to the economy and society and an independent assessment of their tax affairs and motives is something that has to happen.

So, whether you are impacted by the loan charge or earlier years liability or upcoming IR35 reform YOU need to get to your MP, tomorrow, a briefing note asking her/him to appear in the debate and contribute.

LCAG has briefing notes. ContractorCalculator has briefing notes. We have briefing notes. I'm sure others do.

They are FREE.

You do not have to join any of the bodies or sign up for fees or do anything other than ask.

Perhaps the mods will allow contact details to be shared here later, but for now I cannot do that.

In 18 years this is the first time that YOU CAN BE HEARD.

DON'T WASTE THIS OPPORTUNITY

[webberg]

Further to my initial post, I suggest that the following briefing note, cut and pasted to your MP, tonight or tomorrow might not be a bad idea.

Dear [MP]

I'd like to draw your attention to a debate happening in the House of Commons on 20th November.

This debate is to discuss the effects of the loan charge upon tens of thousands of contractors who have already suffered ill health, family breakup, divorce, financial ruin, emptying of pension funds and worse as a result of HMRC's administrative incompetence and incoherent and unexplained policy towards contractors.

Whilst I applaud HMRC efforts to eliminate evasion and the black economy and fraud within the tax system, I find that application of the draconian powers available the agency (more than 100 new powers in the last 5 years) to avoidance - and more particularly the attitude that legal avoidance should be placed into the same category as evasion and the like, to be several steps beyond what would constitute a reasonable response.

Most contractors who used what HMRC choose to call an avoidance scheme but only 10 years after they were freely available, has no idea that they were transgressing a law that they were unaware even existed. Indeed laws still do not exist making any of their actions illegal even though HMRC has persuaded Ministers to make statements that avoid leading to perjury accusations only by dint of Parliamentary Privilege.

If HMRC has not been silent when such arrangements were first used; if they had not made a mess of IR35 in 1999 (and promise to repeat in 2020); if they had actually applied their considerable resource to contacting and advising contractors of their views in 2002 or 2004 or 2010 or 2012 or even 2016, most would not now be facing the direst of consequences.

I urge you to take part in this debate and ask difficult questions.

I urge you to push for an independent inquiry into the treatment of contractors by HMRC, to support those already being undertaken by the TSC (2 inquiries) and the Ecomonic Affairs Committee in the Lords.

HMRC is intent on destroying the careers and lives of highly skilled, hard working, family men and women in an effort to cover up their own inadequacies. This cannot be a sensible position for the Government's tax gathering agency to take. I fear that the shift in HMRC's "mission" that occurred a few years ago, moving from "managemnt of the tax system" to "maximising revenue", has been taken all too literally by certain elements within the organisation. Allowed to continue without oversight and accountability, HMRC will lose the trust of a generation.

I would be happy to supply more information.

[webberg]

Good stuff. I think this is the link to watch it, posted by another member:

No - that's a completely different webinar. The link is to a webinar in which HMRC will have an opportunity to put biased and prejudiced view across to gullible people.

The initial post is about a debate in the HOUSE OF COMMONS next Tuesday 20th November.

[here4beer]

No - that's a completely different webinar. The link is to a webinar in which HMRC will have an opportunity to put biased and prejudiced view across to gullible people.

The initial post is about a debate in the HOUSE OF COMMONS next Tuesday 20th November.

Apologise, I'll remove my post as to not confused things.

I have copied your text and sent to my local MP.

[PeterF]

Graham, many thanks for this and your continued efforts in general. I will send this to my MP this evening.

[Dmac]

Great work - flood your MPs with requests for support of the debate

Agree, this is great work from LCAG and all those publicly pushing against the Loan Charge. I will be contacting my MP with your email, Webberg, adjusted slightly as I voted for my MP so will add a veiled threat that I am considering my options at election time if he will not contribute to this debate, or does not have a very good reason why not. He has already refused (as a Gov minister) to support the EDM for party political reasons.

We should now all flood our MPs with details of this debate, in particular our stance on it, as the Commons, and the general public need to know the facts about how this is affecting lives, and not just the rhetoric and misinformation of the likes of Mel Stride, Philip Hammond et al.

[here4beer]

Agree, this is great work from LCAG and all those publicly pushing against the Loan Charge. I will be contacting my MP with your email, Webberg, adjusted slightly as I voted for my MP so will add a veiled threat that I am considering my options at election time if he will not contribute to this debate, or does not have a very good reason why not. He has already refused (as a Gov minister) to support the EDM for party political reasons.

We should now all flood our MPs with details of this debate, in particular our stance on it, as the Commons, and the general public need to know the facts about how this is affecting lives, and not just the rhetoric and misinformation of the likes of Mel Stride, Philip Hammond et al.

My MP's PA has replied already, so it's a good start here.

[ChimpMaster]

I have written to my MP with Graham's template (thank you) but amended to replace "contractors" with "services professionals, teachers, nurses and doctors" where I feel it adds more interest to the MPs.

[lowpaidworker]

Further to my initial post, I suggest that the following briefing note, cut and pasted to your MP, tonight or tomorrow might not be a bad idea.

Dear [MP]

I'd like to draw your attention to a debate happening in the House of Commons on 20th November.

This debate is to discuss the effects of the loan charge upon tens of thousands of contractors who have already suffered ill health, family breakup, divorce, financial ruin, emptying of pension funds and worse as a result of HMRC's administrative incompetence and incoherent and unexplained policy towards contractors.

Whilst I applaud HMRC efforts to eliminate evasion and the black economy and fraud within the tax system, I find that application of the draconian powers available the agency (more than 100 new powers in the last 5 years) to avoidance - and more particularly the attitude that legal avoidance should be placed into the same category as evasion and the like, to be several steps beyond what would constitute a reasonable response.

Most contractors who used what HMRC choose to call an avoidance scheme but only 10 years after they were freely available, has no idea that they were transgressing a law that they were unaware even existed. Indeed laws still do not exist making any of their actions illegal even though HMRC has persuaded Ministers to make statements that avoid leading to perjury accusations only by dint of Parliamentary Privilege.

If HMRC has not been silent when such arrangements were first used; if they had not made a mess of IR35 in 1999 (and promise to repeat in 2020); if they had actually applied their considerable resource to contacting and advising contractors of their views in 2002 or 2004 or 2010 or 2012 or even 2016, most would not now be facing the direst of consequences.

I urge you to take part in this debate and ask difficult questions.

I urge you to push for an independent inquiry into the treatment of contractors by HMRC, to support those already being undertaken by the TSC (2 inquiries) and the Ecomonic Affairs Committee in the Lords.

HMRC is intent on destroying the careers and lives of highly skilled, hard working, family men and women in an effort to cover up their own inadequacies. This cannot be a sensible position for the Government's tax gathering agency to take. I fear that the shift in HMRC's "mission" that occurred a few years ago, moving from "managemnt of the tax system" to "maximising revenue", has been taken all too literally by certain elements within the organisation. Allowed to continue without oversight and accountability, HMRC will lose the trust of a generation.

I would be happy to supply more information.

can someone check the above.

Just I am about to use that in a response to a meeting with my MP and some of it has mistakes or doesn't make sense.

I do however appreciate the context and massive effort.

[DeadDOTAS]

can someone check the above.

Just I am about to use that in a response to a meeting with my MP and some of it has mistakes or doesn't make sense.

I do however appreciate the context and massive effort.

Thank you Graham for raising awareness of this FANTASTIC opportunity and also for everyone making an effort to getting your MP to attend the session.

If you want briefing materials for your MP, sent them them latest LCAG press releases please:
News - Loan Charge Action Group

In particular this one:
LCAG Press Release 6th November 2018 - Loan Charge Action Group

Also, please provide them with a the following link to the LCAG video collection:
Video News - Loan Charge Action Group

More briefing materials area available from LCAG for free - get in touch here:
Contact LCAG - Loan Charge Action Group

General briefing doc is here:
http://lcag.wpengine.com/wp-content/...l-Briefing.pdf

Please also make sure you follow LCAG on
Twitter: @LCAG_2019
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/loa...-action-group/
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/Loan-Charge...6797766164348/
and Instagram

Also, please consider joining LCAG as a guest member here:
https://www.hmrcloancharge.info/#signup

and, ideally, please sign up as a full member for a one-off joining fee of £100 - this pays for the political / campaign work.

Further, given it's last chance saloon time, pls consider contributing to LCAG's legal challenge / judicial review of the Loan charge here:
https://www.hmrcloancharge.info/judicial-review/

Finally, people who missed the lobbying day should try hopping along next week Tuesday to the House of Commons.
More infos via the contact page (see further up).

Become the "A" in LCAG - now!