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According to a survey of 12,327 contractors conducted by contracting authority ContractorCalculator six in 10 contractors say that they are willing to take clients to a tribunal for incorrect IR35 determinations.
Other statistics that jump out are;
- 54% claim firms are unlawfully deducting their new tax bills from workers' workers' pay
- 62% claim clients have not provided a Status Determination Statement (SDS)
- 58% say they are willing to take clients to Employment Tribunal over incorrect treatment
- 23% expect to quit contracting due to IR35, and 21% intend to change career.
When asked about the HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) tool only 2%, that's right 2%, consider that tool to reflect the law and 79% think that the HMRC just will not stand by the results given. 72% do not trust the CEST tool's accuracy.
Some other key points are;
- 69% of contractors consider that CEST is unfair
- 58% of contractors claim companies are not adhering to reasonable care
- 68% of contractors say they were not even involved in their own assessment process
- Only 38% claim they were given a Status Determination Statement (SDS) – despite this being a legal requirement under the new rules.
Dave Chaplin, CEO of ContractorCalculator said that "the findings speak volumes" and that "The flexible workforce is being destroyed because many firms are not ready, do not understand how to navigate the legislation and are acting non-compliantly, primarily because they have been let down by HMRC's lack of guidance and because final legislation has still not been published. Businesses will suffer as will the UK economy as work moves offshore and contractors' careers and livelihoods are destroyed."
He also goes on to say "The government cannot ignore this overwhelming evidence and must, instead, delay and rethink. A simple Off-Payroll tax of about 5% across the board would remove the need for the complex employment status test, which is wreaking havoc – and 79% of contractors agree with that simple idea."
What are your thoughts on the rollout of the new IR35 legislation?
You can read the full report here - https://www.contractorcalculator.co.uk/rife_payroll_non_compliance_killing_flexible_557410_news.aspx