New Tax legislation on the way?
Wednesday 5th December 2012 will see the chancellor George Osborne deliver his autumn statement. Whilst the headlines may be taken by petrol duty or spending cuts, for recruiters there are other changes potentially anticipated which could have a significant impact. David Gauke, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury has recently announced that a draft finance bill for any new legislation will be published on 11th December 2012.
In the past year the government has consulted on 35 different tax policies, some are very technical or limited to specific industry but others, such as the ‘General Anti Avoidance Rule’ and proposed Controlling Persons legislation may have a significant impact on recruiters. The responses to these consultations will also be published on or before 11th December 2012, with any new legislation included within the draft finance bill.
This comes at a time when subject of tax avoidance has been at the forefront. Media reports and investigations have addressed issues such as the use of off payroll arrangements in the public sector, low paid umbrella models, pay day by pay day expense and tax relief arrangements and engagement via offshore companies. This media focus has been accompanied by heavy criticism of both HMRC and of public sector appointments by the Public Accounts Committee and an increase in HMRC activity. We have even seen an early day motion calling for travel and subsistence arrangements of umbrella organisations to be thoroughly investigated. In light of all this interest we would perhaps be foolish not to expect some announcements or legislation which could affect recruiters, whether relating to the subjects on which there has been consultation, or any new areas.
Lawspeed is holding a seminar in Manchester on 18th December 2012. The seminar will be addressing existing issues such as the MSC legislation, offshore contractors, IR35 and the new business entity tests. However we will also deal with any developments or relevant new legislation which arises as a result of the autumn statement and/or draft finance bill.
Adrian, a highly experienced lawyer, founded Lawspeed in 1997. He is responsible for developing our extensive portfolio of products and services, including the widely used Lawspeed contract templates. Adrian is an expert on “recruitment law” and specialises in contracts, regulatory compliance, employment status and dispute handling. He is chair of the trade body the Association of Recruitment Consultancies, the only lawyer lead recruitment trade body in the UK. Adrian and his co-director Ravi devised Standards in Recruitment as a vehicle for helping drive up standards and compliance in the industry.
Adrian is our lead in discussions with the government over regulatory evolution. Apart from assisting with client support, Adrian’s primary role is research and development into methods of business delivery, our latest service Proterms being his most recent project. Adrian heads our IR35 lawyers team.