Off-payroll working rules to be abolished

The 2017 and 2021 reforms to the off-payroll working rules will be repealed from 6 April 2023. From this date workers providing their services via an intermediary will once again be responsible for determining their employment status and paying the correct tax and National Insurance.

This move will reduce compliance burdens for big business but it does not solve the problem of IR35 according to Chartered Institute of Taxation president Susan Ball. She said: ‘Instead it places the burden of compliance back on small independent contractors and freelancers. This is likely to lead to either widespread non-compliance as happened under the old IR35 and as evidenced by the government’s figures which suggest up to £2bn will be lost each year or to costly compliance activities for HMRC and a lot of pain for contractors having to defend their status assessments or face significant penalties...