Personal service company contractors will see "definite improvements" in
IR35 compliance thanks to work on clarifying tax rules.
That's the view of Recruitment and Employment Confederation head of policy Gillian Econopouly, who has been part of the IR35 Forum looking at ways of improving the legislation.
Her organisation has been working with the PCG, the Chartered Institute of Taxation and the Freelancer and Contractor Services Association to encourage HM Revenue and Customs to clarify the rules for contractors, some of whom are caught in IR35 through a lack of understanding.
She notes that as with any negotiation, the Confederation did not achieve all its aims, but managed to make some significant progress.
This included successfully lobbying for business entity tests that contractors can use to gauge their likely risk profile under IR35.
If a contractor is contacted about IR35 and he or she can show their answers to the test add up, the Revenue has pledged to close the inquiry and not revisit that company for three years.