So, the new Chancellor’s announcement about the IR35 repeal caught everyone unawares, as it’s virtually unheard of to repeal a piece of primary tax legislation without prior consultation.
I’m not knocking-it though; fewer rules about tax has got to be a good thing. Unfortunately it looks like the plan is to roll back the legislation to its original form rather than repeal it completely: this is a benefit to public bodies and large companies (quantified as companies who meet two out of three criteria – turnover greater than £10.2M, balance sheet greater than £5.1M or more than 50 employees) so in reality, nothing has changed for small to medium contractors – the test has always been one for the individual contractor who has his own company to pass, not his client.
