PCG PROCLAIMS FREELANCERS' ROLE IN CHANCELLOR'S SKILLS VISION

PCG has welcomed the Chancellor’s stated goal of world leadership in science and technology, as outlined in the pre-Budget report today.

Commenting on his speech, PCG chairman Simon Juden said, “We share this vision and agree that training and skills development are critical to it; taking new developments out into industry is crucial to keeping UK plc at the cutting technological edge.

“We are disappointed, however, that the Chancellor did not mention the one in seven workers in the UK who are freelance, who are at the forefront of this dissemination,” he continued. “Those of them who are caught by IR35 cannot even claim the training required to retain cutting-edge skills against their tax – unlike the consultancies with whom they compete. We believe that there should be tax breaks for businesses of all sizes who retain employees and train them in new skills.”

Simon also welcomed the idea of a simplified regulatory regime and a single tax return for small businesses. “One of PCG’s key concerns is that the simplest of businesses have to deal with an extremely complex taxation regime, parts of which remain incompatible with the concept of self-assessment. We are obviously disappointed that the critical issues of IR35 and Section 660A remain unaddressed; notwithstanding, this seems to be a move in the right direction.”

“We were also very surprised to see no mention of freelance workers in the discussion of labour-force flexibility,” Simon added. “The UK’s freelancers offer a highly flexible, highly skilled, highly mobile workforce of real macroeconomic benefit to UK Plc”.

HM Treasury has today also published a discussion paper entitled ‘Small companies, the self-employed and the tax system’. “We warmly welcome the recognition of small businesses’ role in diffusing new ideas and technology, and are pleased to note the Government’s belief that ‘small businesses can play a pivotal role in supporting economic objectives’ which we share. Further, we strongly agree that the choice of business structure should be driven by commercial rather than tax considerations,” said Simon. “As the trade association representing UK freelancers, we look forward to the continuation of this discussion and reiterate our intention to participate at the heart of it, providing a strong positive contribution.”

TAX BODIES ISSUE OWN S660A GUIDANCE

The professional bodies* have issued joint guidance on S660A, dismissing the Inland Revenue's own version as a disappointing 'sunburnt zebra'.

The Revenue issued guidance on S660A, known as the settlements legislation, on 18 November, following its controversial legal victory against Arctic Systems at the Special Commissioners. PCG had supported Geoff and Diana Jones of Arctic Systems in the case.

CIOT president John Beattie says the Revenue's guidance "consists almost entirely of repackaged earlier comments and does not address the key areas of uncertainty which we have repeatedly highlighted. We have read it from cover to cover, but it deals only with the black and white and not with the important grey areas, which remain just as murky as before. After all this time, we hoped for more than a sunburnt zebra."

The tax representative bodies have therefore issued joint guidance to their members about how to cope with this complex area. They are recommending that taxpayers who are potentially affected by the new rules protect themselves against the possibility of a future attack on their business structure by the Inland Revenue.

This will require them to send detailed information with tax returns, including copies of partnership or company accounts and computations, a copy of the memorandum and articles of association of the company or partnership agreement, and a summary of how the business operates and what is done by each of the shareholders or partners in running the business.

* The Chartered Institute of Taxation, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) Tax Faculty, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, Association of Taxation Technicians, Association of Accounting Technicians. The Federation of Small Businesses has also voiced support for the professional bodies’ guidance.

PCG is still calling for public support to help fund the Arctic appeal, and details of the legal fund and how to donate are available on the website.

BANKING SURVEY

The subject of business banking frequently rears its head in the forums, and PCG is in discussion with a high street bank about its interest in developing a packaged business account especially for freelance contractors and consultants.

Nearly 400 members have already taken part in an online survey designed to assess the requirements of members and their businesses. If you have not already done so, please spend a few moments of your time to tell PCG about your banking needs and preferences.

CONTRACTOR UK MARKET REPORT

Contractor UK's November market report looks at current contractor rates, skills in demand and the most lucrative hunting ground for overseas contracts. Freelance contractors wishing to assess whether they are being paid what they are worth can also check the website for Contractor UK's contractor rates, which are updated weekly.

COMMERCIAL FORUM PROJECT POSTINGS

For information about the latest job, project, contract and work opportunities, see PCG's Commercial forum , and Members' Commercial forum. The Commercial forum may be accessed by Affiliate members, and PCG welcomes postings by agencies.

Current opportunities include:

Web testers - Central London/remote working

PHP programmer - Cambridge area

Businsess analyst - London

Web (extranet) designer - London

TimeIQ/FAME Java developers - Harpenden

REAL LIFE MEETINGS

Local real life meetings - known on the forums as "RLMs" - encourage members to socialise, network and discuss PCG issues. These meetings are open to all members, and in many cases non-members are welcome to come along too.

Glasgow - Thursday 2 December 2004 17:00
Republic Biere Halle, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow

Central London - Thursday 2 December 2004 20:00
Cheshire Cheese, London

Kent - Monday 6 December 2004 19:30
TGI Fridays, Bluewater Regional Shopping Centre, near Greenhithe

Wiltshire/Gloucestershire - Tuesday 7 December 2004 20:00
Golden Heart pub

Basel - Tuesday 7 December 2004 19:30
Fischerstübe, Rheingasse 45, 4058 Basel

Edinburgh - Tuesday 14 December 2004 19:30
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, 28 Queen Street, Edinburgh (registration required in advance)

Various members have also posted in the RLM forum about potential meetings in:

Munich, Norwich, Swindon and Winchester or Southampton

Disclaimer - caveat emptor - PCG carries very limited advertising only from known and reputable Affiliates and complementary organisations. Even so, publication of any advertisement carries no implicit or explicit endorsement by PCG.

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