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PCG Newsletter - 25 Feb 2002 - 09/02 - Tax Insurance coverage

In this issue:
1. Tax Investigation Insurance
2. Members Survey
3. PCG election nominations
4. IR35 toolkit seminar
5. PCG presentation to ATSCO
Real Life Meetings

1. Tax Investigation Insurance

In recent weeks PCG has reported that the IR are increasingly approaching contracting companies under the guise of a standard PAYE visit, and actually conducting IR35 status reviews at the meeting. PCG has advised members to treat any approach by the IR with ‘caution,´ and if required, seek professional advice.

All PCG members are covered under the Group´s Tax Investigation Insurance scheme. A share of each membership fee is used to provide this benefit. The scheme is handled by Qdos and provides cover for professional fees incurred up to a limit of £50,000 in respect of the following:
· An Inland Revenue in-depth investigation (including IR35 status enquiry)

· A PAYE/NIC investigation or dispute
· A Self Assessment return investigation (including Aspect Enquiry)
· A VAT Dispute

The scheme provides coverage for the costs of an *investigation* and not routine IR visits. As soon as you are officially notified by the Revenue that you are under investigation, you should inform Qdos who (like all advisers) are better able to achieve results if they have been involved from as early as possible.
Full details of the scheme, including coverage, exclusions and claim form are available from:
http://www.pcg.org.uk/tax_invest_insurance.html?nl250202

Under the scheme, it is the individual member who is covered and not the members company. Also, with prior agreement, members can use their own advisers instead of Qdos. Full FAQs are available including issues such as coverage for other company director´s (eg. spouse) and non-contracting income / running an associated business
http://www.pcg.org.uk/taxinvest_faqs.html
NB you must keep your PCG membership up to date to ensure coverage from this scheme.

The FAQs also link to additional advice for members faced with a PAYE enquiry:
http://www.pcg.org.uk/members/paye_faq_taxinvest.html
(This link is available to PCG members only. To join
http://www.pcg.org.uk/join.html )

This week Qdos handled a PAYE visit / status enquiry on behalf of a member. Qdos had previously reviewed the contracts (2 clients, 3 renewals each) and felt that from an IR35 point of view, the business was in a very strong position. Of course, the IR official declared the contracts ‘caught,´ based on the IR guidance notes. Immediately Qdos questioned the inspector about use of case law to determine status – and it quickly became apparent that the official (a NICs specialist) had no specialist training in reviewing contracts.

Qdos insisted that the contracts were reviewed clause by clause and eventually the official conceded that to fall outside IR35, the only key ingredient was an unfettered right of substitution.

Not only is this incorrect, but in this case, the contract had a relatively weak requirement to gain client agreement regarding the suitability of the substitute. Qdos pointed out the relevant facts and after working with the inspector to understand the facts, were able to negotiate a change of opinion as he eventually declared the business ‘outside IR35´.

A full report and discussion of this visit is available for members:
http://www.pcg.org.uk/threads/showpost.pl?f=public01-15278&p=0&v=c&s=5?nl250202
NB you must be a member and logged in to the PCG discussion forums to make this link – if you need help see end of newsletter.


2. Members survey


Members are invited to share their views of PCG using our online survey. It takes a few minutes to complete and will help us plan the future. Please spare a moment, no matter if you are a new or old member:
http://www.zoomerang.com/recipient/survey-intro.zgi?ID=Q86E3YGCTGV6&PIN=KYLLM9QL5XW4


3. PCG election nominations


Nominations are now open for 2002 CC elections. Again members are asked to get involved to secure a successful future for your representative body.
http://www.pcg.org.uk/members/elections/2002/index.html


4. IR35 toolkit seminar

Book now for a place on the forthcoming seminars – at Heathrow on Tuesday 5th March and Bristol on Thursday 7th March. These events are just over a week away!
All of PCG´s advisers are on hand to explain the latest information on P35, status and to answer your questions.
http://www.pcg.org.uk/resources/seminar_02_02.html?250202


5. PCG presents to ATSCO

PCG took the opportunity recently to meet with the members of ATSCO at one of their regular meetings, and to present on the future of PCG as a representative body for contractors. The meeting covered a wide range of issues including the legal challenge to IR35, the state of the market, educating clients to use business to business contracts, FTVs, agencies going bust and ‘poaching´ of contractors by resource management companies.

A full report is available at
http://www.pcg.org.uk/threads/showpost.pl?f=lobby-27206&p=0&v=c&s=5

REGIONAL NEWS
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Real Life Meetings

For the latest information and to start a local group see
http://www.pcg.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.

Wokingham
***********
Thursday 28th February
The Ship
Time: from 7:30

Welwyn
**********
Date: Thursday 28th February 2002
Time: 7:30 pm onwards

West Midlands
**********
Date: Thursday 7th March 2002
Time: 7.00 pm
Venue: Rose & Crown, Junction 3 of M42
[email protected]

Please follow this link to Real Life meetings to get involved
http://www.pcg.org.uk/threads/wwwthreads.pl?a=l&f=meet

Alison Edwards
(PCG Executive Team)

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 http://www.pcg.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 http://www.pcg.org.uk/members/discussion_forum.html


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