Pledge is greeted with cautious optimism

In an interview with The Sun on Sunday, Liz Truss’s promised to review IR35 if she becomes Prime Minister. Truss was quoted as saying, “The changes that have been made to IR35 are all about trying to treat the self-employed the same as big business. But the fact is, if you’re self-employed, you don’t get the same benefits as being in a big company. You don’t get paid holidays, you didn’t get those benefits. So the tax system should reflect that more.”

IR35 insurance specialist, Qdos, has cautiously welcomed Truss’s pledge.

Qdos CEO, Seb Maley, commented: “Promising a review into IR35 is a step in the right direction. It’s widely accepted that the IR35 legislation and the way HMRC enforces it is fundamentally flawed. Liz Truss must make a review a priority if she becomes Prime Minister. But this mustn’t be lip service or a tactic to win the votes of contractors for whom IR35 remains a massive issue.”

“It’s impossible to overlook the fact that we’ve been here before. IR35 has been reviewed multiple times in recent years, yet still the government have taken very little or no action whatsoever. So you’d forgive contractors and businesses impacted by the rules for taking Liz Truss’s pledge with a pinch of salt.

“Any review of IR35 needs to be independent and far-reaching. HMRC’s very own IR35 status tool is unreliable and inaccurate, which is a major risk to compliance. While the legislation is forcing genuinely self-employed contractors into zero rights employment – a situation where they pay tax as employees but don’t receive any employment rights in exchange. Having specialised in this legislation since its introduction in 2000, Qdos stands ready to contribute to any review.”