24th August, 2001 - 26/01 Case law strategy
In this issue:
- Case law strategy
- PCG events diary
- Meeting with CBI
- RIP Act and PSI Act
- PCG AGM and Conference
- Agency offers to sponsor PCG membership
- One man�s fight and how PCG helped
- �Audit trail� your business � PCG checklist
Case Law Strategy
As announced this week on the PCG noticeboard:
PCG has enlisted the assistance of tax and accountancy
expert Francesca Lagerberg who will assess possible cases
that the PCG can support in order to clarify and extend
the case law boundaries for IR35. She is already looking
at the first possible case.
Francesca is a freelance tax consultant who writes and
lectures on all areas of tax. One of her roles involves
acting as a senior tax consultant to the Institute of Chartered
Accountants in England and Wales's Tax Faculty. In addition
to being a tax expert Francesca is also a qualified barrister
(non practicing). She is therefore eminently suited to working
with the PCG in this area.
Francesca will help the PCG Board decide which cases could
be supported by the PCG and will try to identify cases that
offer the following potential benefits:
- Securing clear �victories� over the Revenue in a way
that ensures the result can be used by other members to
better understand their own situations and help establish
contract boundaries.
- Cases where the benefits of success outweigh the possibility
of failure. Here success may be far from certain but the
case would clarify an important status issue or could
favourably extend the established status test boundaries
as they might apply in the knowledge based contracting
environment.
Unfortunately PCG does not have the resources to support
all cases that meet those objectives. It is inevitable therefore
that support may be given to one case and refused to another
despite the circumstances being very similar.
Members who think that their case could be one that PCG
might benefit from supporting must be prepared to let PCG
have access to all relevant supporting documentation including
contracts and any contract reviews that have been carried
out by outside experts. They must also be prepared to allow
PCG to circulate details internally and to outside experts
for technical opinions and to allow Francesca Lagerberg
to review the papers and consult with the member.
Members who think their cases or situation might be suitable
should contact PCG using this e-mail address:
[email protected].
Members should give as much relevant information as they
can and, if possible, attach copies of contracts, correspondence
etc. The case will be vetted for suitability and to ensure
that all such cases are properly documented before going
to the outside expert for assessment.
PCG Events Diary
To track all major events, exhibitions and conferences,
PCG is now running an events diary so that members can follow
relevant activities and contribute information.
https://www.pcgroup.org.uk/members/pcg_diary.htm
Meeting with CBI
A delegation of PCG representatives met with officers from
the CBI in August to discuss a number of issues including
the apparent increase in risk to clients who are not using
business-to-business contracts for temporary project resources.
Full details of this meeting are available and PCG is following
up the discussions.
https://www.pcgroup.org.uk/threads/showpost.pl?f=lobby-24229&p;=0&v;=c&s;=5
RIP Act and PSI Act
The Home Office have asked for consultation on the RIP Act
again:
https://www.pcgroup.org.uk/threads/showpost.pl?f=lobby-24306&p;=0&v;=c&s;=5
and PCG has an opportunity to contribute to a DTI review
document for the information security sector. Members who
work in this area are invited to contribute:
https://www.pcgroup.org.uk/threads/showpost.pl?f=lobby-24329&p;=0&v;=c&s;=5
PCG AGM and conference
Watch for an announcement soon detailing full details of
the 2001 AGM and conference to be held on Saturday 13th
October in York.
Agency offers to sponsor PCG membership
PCG has formally agreed a new membership initiative with
an associate member, Tech Aid International (TAI). TAI is
offering to pay PCG membership for any contractor who works
'through them' for a minimum of four weeks.
Like many associates, TAI has invested time and effort
educating both clients and contractors about IR35 / contract
issues and found that PCG members were better informed (than
most contractors)! TAI feels that by working closely with
PCG, they will benefit as the contractors have a better
understanding of complex issues, which can then be resolved
quicker. More importantly, they feel that PCG members are
'the cream of the contracting community' - allowing them
to source the best skills for their clients. TAI is active
in both the IT and engineering sector. Full details of this
initiative are available at
https://www.pcgroup.org.uk/threads/showpost.pl?f=Notice-342&p;=0&v;=c&s;=5
One man�s fight � and how PCG helped
A PCG member has recorded how he fought to hear the magic
opinion from the IR: �..�As such, the engagement will not
be subject to the �intermediaries� legislation.��. The member
records the steps he took and how PCG helped:
https://www.pcgroup.org.uk/threads/showpost.pl?f=legal-36592&p;=0&v;=c&s;=5
�Audit trail� your business � PCG checklist
PCG has published a comprehensive checklist for members
to �audit� the consultancy status of their businesses. Being
In Business On Your Own Account (BIBOYOA) is an important
self-employment pointer and demonstrates how collating information
to support your status will not only increase certainty,
but will also provide evidence to the IR in the event of
an investigation.
https://www.pcgroup.org.uk/members/resources/AUDITFORBIBOYA.pdf
MEMBER SERVICES
Medical Insurance
The number of services available to PCG members has increased
quickly and consistently and many members join to enjoy
access to specific benefits. In each newsletter we will
�profile� a service and provide details to ensure that members
are getting the most value from their PCG membership. More
details of member services can be found at
https://www.pcgroup.org.uk/guide.htm
Medical Insurance
PCG has appointed Medibroker Online, an independent medical
insurance broker, to review the private medical insurance
market for the best value to PCG membership. Medibroker
work with Royal Sun Alliance to offer a choice of plans
at up to 25 per cent discounted premiums.
https://www.pcgroup.org.uk/medical_insurance.html
Revised FAQs on Tax Investigation Insurance
https://www.pcgroup.org.uk/taxinvest_faqs.html
An indication of the value of PCG services is available
at
https://www.pcgroup.org.uk/resources/pcg_value.htm
Members' resolutions
There is a members' forum on the site where members can
post their own resolutions and seek support. Current 'live'
resolutions can be viewed at:
https://www.pcgroup.org.uk/threads/wwwthreads.pl?a=l&f;=28
PCG is still reliant on contributions from members to fund
the legal challenge. Members who wish to contribute to the
fund should go to:
https://www.pcgroup.org.uk/members/legal/legalpledge.html
REGIONAL NEWS
Real Life Meetings
For the latest information and to start a local group see
https://www.pcgroup.org.uk/threads/wwwthreads.pl?a=l&f;=meet
To promote your local meet through the newsletter - email
[email protected]
with REGIONS in the subject matter, details of the
event and a name and email contact point/or phone number
for further information.
Thames Valley
The Thames Valley group now follows a rotating schedule:
1st Tuesday of each month - Basingstoke 2nd Wednesday of
each month - Farnborough) 3rd Thursday of each month � The
Ship, Wokingham http://www.adb-enterprises.com/pcg_tv.html
Chichester
Thursday 30th August at 8pm Old Cross in North Street Contact
John Knapp: [email protected]
Dublin
Thursday 30th August from 7.30pm Porterhouse, Parliament
Street Contact Nick on [email protected]
Manchester
Friday 31st August from 7.30pm In Town Contact Andy on [email protected]
London
Saturday 1st September from 6.00pm Carpenters Arms - corner
of Whitfield Street and Howland Street Contact Andrew on
[email protected]
West London
Monday 3rd September from 7.30pm Orange Tree Pub, Richmond
Contact Greg on [email protected]
Peterborough
Wednesday 12th September from 8.00pm Paul Pry, Lincoln Rd,
Peterborough Contact Ian on [email protected]
Please follow this link to Real Life meetings to
get involved https://www.pcgroup.org.uk/threads/wwwthreads.pl?a=l&f;=meet
Susie Hughes
(Head of Executive Services)
This newsletter is published by the Professional Contractors
Group. Please feel free to circulate the newsletter to other
independent contractors who you know, and who may be interested
in joining the PCG. Some links in the newsletter will take
you into the password-protected members' area of the PCG
website. If you have forgotten your password, contact https://www.pcgroup.org.uk/scripts/public/access/form.pl
To view the Forum links in this newsletter, you must
be first logged into the Forum. Further details available
at https://www.pcgroup.org.uk/members/discussion_forum.html
|