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Issue 18; 15 September 1999
Secret Meeting | Information Links
Last week started with a flurry of activity when the PCG
heard that the Government (Dawn Primarolo) had held 'secret
meetings' with a number of representative bodies to discuss
the way forward for IR35.
After the substance of this was confirmed in an FT article,
the PCG made its views known in a press notice to trade
and nationals; a letter to Dawn Primarolo from David Ramsden;
a letter to the IR officials from Kevin Miller with a summary
of the alternative proposals and their impact on the economy.
Rumours abounded that the Revenue was set to make an announcement
of a 'done deal' during the week. Fortunately, this did
not materialise and whether the letters and the attendant
media coverage instigated by the PCG can be in part responsible
for this is a matter of speculation. However, this story
was widely reported in nationals and trades and will, along
with the direct letters, have been brought to the attention
of Ministers and senior officials. The main points which
PCG brought to the Minister's and the media's attention
were:
- The Government should engage in proper consultation;
- This cannot be done by excluding PCG from this process;
- The original proposals were flawed and there is a danger
that rushed alternative proposals without proper consultation
will also be flawed;
- The PCG has commissioned Professor John Burton from
the University of Westminster to undertake an economic
study of the principles;
- If the Government chooses to ignore our approach we
would conclude that the measure has more to do with raising
tax and benefiting certain favoured large companies than
promoting fairness and the protection of worker's rights.
David Ramsden also wrote to several Peers (Government and
Opposition) reminding them of Lord McIntosh's undertaking
to hold a seminar during the recess to discuss IR proposals
and try to find a workable compromise.
In the meantime, the Government has continued to take every
opportunity to portray itself as the promoter of IT and
small businesses with a series of announcements and reviews,
while still coming in for criticism for its failure to ease
the bureaucratic burden on small businesses.
Kind regards
Susie Hughes
Press officer for the Professional Contractors Group
Information Links: (All Adobe Acrobat pdf files)
PCG
letter to Dawn Primarolo, 6th July
PCG
letter to Dawn Primarolo, 6th September
PCG
letter to Sarah Walker at Inland Revenue, 9th September
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