As the Off-Payroll tax looms just over the horizon, contractors are scrambling to be ready for its possibly damaging effect to their income while also grappling with an on-going pandemic that shows no sign of being over anytime soon. The IR35 reform has been reviled since it’s mention and there has been little done to improve the flawed legislation, despite a recent delay of the rollout in deference to the pandemic.
For many contractors, the real question they are facing is not whether they will be able to be IR35 compliant when the rollout takes place, but whether they will even still be in business when IR35’s start date arrives. By the time April 6, 2021 rolls around, many contractors will either have been forced to find a new place to work or they will have gotten so far into debt that their situation will be truly dire.
Government Not Interested
The government has turned a blind eye to contractors’ suffering since the beginning, and many contractors are starting to believe that there will be no aid sent their way, no matter how much it is needed. To top off financial pressures such as these, the pressure of being forced to accept IR35 determinations based on the flawed CEST tool and engagers’ decisions may know little about the actual process on contractors’ shoulders.
Experts have been saying that the damage currently being done to contractors will have a long-lasting impact on the UK’s economic future, yet the government still turns a blind eye. Despite the argument that this piece of legislation is only aimed at those who are aiming to dodge payment of tax, there is such an unclear set of rules and standards that are being put into place that many contractors are just as concerned about winning any future work that is compliant as they are about being found to have been incorrectly placed inside of IR35.
Fraught Determinations
The current standard of determination has to do with where the contractor works, if they have to work and if they must accept it. These are very broad ideas, however, and are open to much interpretation. As the new rules are about to come into play, many end-clients have no idea how to correctly determine these factors, leaving contractors to sort out the details for themselves. On top of this, many contractors are dealing with unfair and incorrect blanket bans that HMRC has refused to address and correct.
For many, the future already looks bleak and uncertain as the lockdowns stretch on and on into the future without an end in sight. Added to this pressure for contractors, is this uncertainty that they will even be able to win work or keep engagements after the rollout. It is no wonder that mental health is in a critical state, and that suicides and other mental health crises are becoming more common. It can be hoped that there will be help on the way once the rollout has occurred, but contractors are urged to self-educate and make certain that they are ready for the rollout, even if their engager is not.
