After the announcements this morning (17 Oct) by the current Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, Chapter 10 of the IR35 Legislation which was due to be repealed will now stay in place.
This means that the decision on if engagements are caught by the IR35 rules will remain with large and medium sized organisations. For new contracts – a Status Determination Statement will still be required to be issued to the contractor.
Duncan Forsyth – Senior Manager
As we had just come to terms with the new proposals and one U-turn, up pops the new Chancellor with a more or less blanket reversal of the changes announced earlier this month. Now to unwind those calculations prepare for clients considering the interaction between salary and dividends. It’s back to where we were.
On the plus side, the social and health levy will not be going ahead and the Stamp Duty Land Tax changes will remain. The first was a major election point for Liz Truss and the latter intended to bolster the property market at a time when mortgage interest rates are increasing.
What will come from the 31 October statement now – will there be enough time to make decisions about possible changes or will it just be a statement of facts and figures and other matters left until the new year…
Lucy Orrow – Senior Tax Manager
On 23 September, I wrote comments to say there were tax cuts for everyone but “how are we as a country going to pay for all this when combined with the energy support package”.
Today’s announcement by the new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt cancels nearly all measures announced by Kwasi Kwarteng less than a month ago. The only two remaining is the removed 1.25% National Insurance rise and an increase to the stamp duty thresholds.
The Chancellor is looking for economic stability and we shall see how this announcement is welcomed by the markets over the coming days as we approach 31 October. At that point, there will be another statement alongside a report from the Office for Budget Responsibility.
I agree we do need economic stability, but complete U-turns like this must themselves create instability. My hope is that when they review the energy support package, they focus more on businesses than they have so far. If businesses are not supported then this is likely to lead to job losses and you can’t pay your personal energy cost if you have no income.
Sean Wiegand – Partner
At a time when inflation is high and companies are facing pressures from employees to support them through the cost of living crisis, businesses have been given a tax rise with corporation tax set to increase to 25%.
The turmoil over the last three weeks has been unprecedented however the next two weeks is still going to be a period of watch this space.
Craig Weavers – Partner