+ + + Tories to Scrap IR35 – Geeks Rejoice + + +
HMRC’s IR35 tax regime is hated by IT contractors and freelancers, the Shadow Business Minister, Mark Prisk confirmed today that:
“For the last 13 years, Labour have constantly meddled with the tax rules for freelancers and self-employed. IR35 has especially proved to over-complex, uncertain and often unfair. At a time when Britain should be open for business, Gordon Brown has made it harder to be self-employed. This is why a Conservative Government would mandate the independent Office of Tax Simplification to undertake a fundamental review of current arrangements with the aim of providing a clearer, lasting and fairer tax regime.”
That is the geek vote sewn up…
Arrrr
It hardly raised any extra tax any way!
Nice one Tory idiots, propose tax changes that would change my life immeasurably for the better, but be so shit you can’t even get elected against the biggest insane mong in the history of politics. Twats.
But that statement doesn’t promise to abolish IR35; merely ‘review’ it. The review could propose keeping it and/or slightly amending it.
Exactly and reviews are what happen all the time anyway. This is an empty gesture a mere fart in a colander.
The statement reeks of NuLabour style doublespeak equivocation. No meat and vague promises mean nothing, as for cast iron guarantees, well we all know what they are.
Gordon Brown’s latest speech, we need more immigrants. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8595973.stm
Yes, the saggy sack of dog shit is droning on about immigration. Yet another matter Labour have had all this years to sort, yet they have made a howling cock up of it for oh so many smelly little reasons. Piss off Gordon.
@Road Hog
“Gordon Brown’s latest speech, we need more immigrants. “
If there’s one thing we don’t have enough of in this country, it’s immigrants (I know, because I heard it on the BBC).
Oh, goody! A review!
The Torys really are getting the hang of this NuLabia doublespeak bollocks, aren’t they…
Oi! Less of the “Geeks” Guido!
IR35 is a voluntary tax anyway. Get your T&Cs changed or change the way you contract via an agency, or preferably without one.
Yep, I don’t understand it at all.
Against Labour, the opposition should be out of sight in the polls. Yet it’s close.
Are people that stupid or the Tories that poor?
Over the last 10 years, Labour has let in 3 million immigrants and added 1 million to the public sector wage bill. In the same period~4 million retirees and skillled, educated AB workers have left to USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Spain etc. Add in the gerrymandering and boundary bias and it’s easy to understand why it’s so close.
People are stupid. IQ tests required for permission to vote? To be able to breed?
How about this for PR, all votes are multiplied by the IQ of the individual voter. Highest score wins. Everyone gets a vote but Jeremy Kyle fans and climate change scientists get less influence than people who can scratch their head and breathe at the same time.
That is only if you believe the polls, the media are trying to hype a close contest for their own ends- particularly the BBC and Murdoch related mediums. Don’t let them sow a seed of doubt, that is why we have the McBride types writing on this blog and smearing decent people who dare to question Liebour. they are the scum of the earth but there is a lot of people who only catch paper or news headlines distorting what McSlug and his low life are about. Keep chipping away at their lies and spin.
Not to mention the postal vote which in the words of a judge Richard Mawrey.
He criticised the government’s insistence that the current postal voting system was working.
“Anybody who has sat through the case I have just tried and listened to evidence of electoral fraud that would disgrace a banana republic would find this statement surprising,” he said.
we can look forward to many more of these cases as nothing has changed.
Or are the polls wrong? Not as if it hasn’t happened before
I’ve been out canvassing, the polls are wrong becuase people are enjoying taking the piss out of them
or the polls corrupt
We’re all having fun signing up to YouGov and lying to them
Of course, the single failure of these tax proposals are that none are directed at MPs who feel they ought to be exempt from tax regulation (a bit like FIO, eh, Harperson) ie their expenses are not treated as income in kind like the rest of us; their relatives appear to be evading tax on rental income when they let Ministers/MPs live with them. And what about the transport used to take them from one place to another, is that not income in kind? Yesterday Blair was taken around the country at our expense. I appreciate there may still be a security issue, a lot of that is his own making. Surely he can afford a car for him and his staff. Government has introduced advertising for benefit cheats and tax evaders, why not start with MPs and ministers?
Guido, are you investigating why Blair appears to be benefiting by providing consultant advice relating to an oil contract that a Korean company has with Iraq. Surely if this is correct there is an outrageous scandal (thousands of people killed for his own interest and is prepared to lie to cover his tracks) and a conflict of interest as a former PM. Especially as this matter was deliberately asked to be kept out of the public domain. I’m sure the BBC’s Nick Robinson will latch onto this and feature it on his news blog 8 or 9 times- will he not?
Guido, secondly, when are we going to get some true independence on MPs’ standards, interests etc in parliament. This self-regulating corrupt machine must stop before the next election.
Trust Brown’s judgment, Brown robbed everyone’s pension in 1997 and is now wondering what should be done to finance people in their old age- Brown won’t let you down. Brown sold our gold when it was at its lowest price costing the UK £7 billion pounds- Brown won’t let you down. Brown improperly financed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, thousands of people lost their lives because Brown did not provide enough money. Brown’s denied this in complete contrast to the evidence of military chiefs. He then realised he did not fund the wars properly and wrote to confirm he was wrong- Brown won’t let you down. Brown is the one who was given a good economy and now it is bankrupt- Brown won’t let you down. Brown still claims for a second home that he does not have, brown won’t let you down. Brown recently told the country- I won’t let you down. He cannot be trusted. Brown has let you down for 13 years, it is time for change, vote him out.
Wow Tories launch review!!!! this is old news its been known for quite a while they would look at IR35- thought we were ending all this obsessive New Labour reviewing and quangocratic government? As long as this review does still keep some mechanism in place to stop self employed using anomalies in tax system to set up ltd companies that don’t really exist to help them avoid tax that the rest of us pay. Wonder why Guido knows so much about IR35?
Independent contractors don’t get paid holiday or sick leave, they have to pay for their own training, insurance, accountant’s fees an so on.
Of course they shouldn’t be treated in the same way as PAYE staff.
These aren’t anomalies in the tax system – the beef is that the tax laws that apply to large consultancy companies are manipulated under IR35 so that they work differently for small companies simply because the latter are easier to mug.
IR 35 was introduced by Dawn Primarolo and Steven Timms. During the debate Timms concealed that he had been allowed to keep shares in Ovum, his former employer, by a special arrangement with the directors.
IR35 was designed to catch 1-man consultancies, whereas Ovum was big and escaped IR35. Timms should also have disposed of his Ovum shares when he became a Treasury Minister, but failed to do so for almost a year, after he had been caught out.
Whilst preaching that freelance consultants were avoiding tax, which was ‘unfair’, Timms was the major beneficiary of a tax-avoidance scheme whereby all Ovum shares were transferred to Ovum Holdings Ltd, created purely to avoid tax.
A complaint was made to Filkin. In his defence Timms claimed that:
1) Ovum was not caught by IR35 and therefore he did not benefit (in fact IR35 prevented smaller companies competing against Ovum, so he would indirectly benefit)
2) His failure to declare his Ovum Holdings shares in the MPs register was a technical oversight (in fact this disguised his participation in a tax avoidance scheme, which Filkin was unaware of – incredible hypocrisy by Timms considering he was proposing IR35 on the dubious claim that all smaller consultancies were involved with tax avoidance)
3) He had held onto his shares as he was unable to sell them. (In fact , Filkin was unaware that if Timms had tried to sell his shares according to Ovum’s rules, he would have been free to dispose of them quickly. The fact that almost a year later he was having to ask the Ovum directors to agree to the transfer of the shares to a trust fund indicates that he had never tried to sell them – had he unsuccesfully put them up for sale, he would have been able to transfer them to a trust fund without the director’s permission)
So Timms kept the shares in defiance of Ministerial rules (he was a Brownite Treasury Minister). No surprises that Ovum did work for the treasury.
The Sunday Times first pointed out Timms’ undeclared interests, but after Timms pulled the wool over Filkin’s eyes they did not investigate further, or they would have found the Ovum records at Companies House that showed that he had not been honest with her.
IR35 prevents small consultancies competeing on an even playing field with larger companies like Ovum. Nice if you are a share-owning, tax-avoiding Labour minister
There are also benefits – most self employed only pay class 2 NI and are entitled to claim all work related expenses to reduce tax bill. self employed can write off all kinds of things on this.
Do you not agree that there needs to be some measure to stop front companies being used to claim salaries in dividends to avoid incurring any National Insurance?
166 = member of SIS, the Special Ignorance Squad, a sub-division of the Labour Rabid Rebuttall Task Farce.
RAM – the definition of work related expenses is so narrow that the self employes can’t by any means claim all kinds of things – unless you’re an MP in which case there seem to be no rules. Tax dodging bastards.
You’ve got your facts wrong, RAM, you are showing your ignorance
IR35 is aimed at small companies, preventing them from claiming back business costs against tax, whereas large companies like Ovum and it’s employees can.
This means that small !R35-caught businesses lose out tax-wise with respect ot Office costs, advertising, IT costs, training, etc.
People who are employees of such small businesses are NOT self-employed. They are like employees of the company, but unlike those of larger companies do not enjoy the tax benefits.
IR 35 treats such consultants falsely as employees of their clients, but without any employment protection rights, etc.
Take training for example:
Typical employee of large company – company pays for training, training free for employee, pays no tax; company offsets all training costs against corporation tax. If employee is a shareholder, can recieve profits as dividends without paying National Insurance on it.
Consultant/ Company hit by IR35 – Consultant’s company pays for training, training may be treated as a benefit to the owner-employee; Company cannot offset training costs against rofits the training, as the companies revenues are treated as the owner-employee’s personal income and taxed at a much higher rate when employers AND employees national Insurance are included. Owner-employee pays for the training out his taxed income, cannot offset the training cost against profit.
This is true of most other business expenses under IR35
ha ha Thats News- how very droll. I like the idea I’m Labour. If you re-read I was simply laughing at the massive inaccuracy in Guidos headline – proclaiming a scrapping with a statement about a review – and laughing at how New Labour Guido’s little sleight of pen was.
IR35 is indeed incredibly flawed but I just feel we need some mechanism so that an individual shouldn’t be able to avoid national insurance completely by setting up a company to enable them to pay themselves through dividends.
For all those banging on about simplicity in the tax system – yes it needs to be clear but an overly simplified system ends up lumping many people in very different employment circumstances together and thus defeats the point you are trying to make.
Consultant your argument is fine but you don’t accept that individuals were abusing the existing set up before IR35
IR35 may hit small companies (as I say it is deeply flawed) but its stated objective was to prevent using personal service companies to dodge tax that was owed on earnings.
If you think this wasn’t happening you really have your head in the sand
Your excessive blogging (like mine) suggests as a freelancer you have quite a lot of freedom to organise their day – should really get a real job!
Ram,
Most freelancers work through agencies. Under employment law, they are OBLIGED to form a limited company as a consequence.
As has been pointed out, such people incur all the costs of running that company, and as well as receiving no paid holiday, benefits, pensions, etc., and are obliged to pay both employee’s and employer’s NI on their salary.
IR35 only allowed 5% of income (not profit) to be allowed as “tax-free”, everything else was taxed as if it were the freelancer’s personal income, and extra running costs, like the office, stationary, advertising, web site, etc., was paid out of income already taxed at around 64%. This was discriminatory, probably illegal and grossly unfair. It also made small companies completely unable to compete with larger ones on a level playing field.
Still, it made Socialists with envy in their veins feel warm and fuzzy because someone successful was being screwed down.
I stopped freelancing in April 2000 after 21 years as an independent consultant because not only did I refuse to submit to this disgusting tax, but I couldn’t have afforded to live. The IT world is poorer for the thousands like me, with years of experience, who suddenly left the market.
A consequence of that is the hordes of Indians we now have, screwing up everything they touch, driving down rates, and swamping the market denying local consultants a living.
I met Mark Prisk personally at a very small meeting discussing small business needs, and he told me that the Conservatives were determined to remove IR35. I believe him.
I remember a swedish writer wrote a book about a self employed detective who had to pay tax of 52% of his earnings as both employee and employer. If he got a reward he owed the government a further 4%.
A politician promises to look into it at some unspecified time in the future.
That promise is worth the paper it’s written on.
Still, I’ve got to vote tory anyway, otherwise the country will be damaged beyond repair.
To think of all those people who have died in the past trying to keep Britain free – I hope they rise from the grave and drag all those nulab politicos down to the deepest pits of hell.
IR35 only allowed 5% of income (not profit) to be allowed as “tax-free”, everything else was taxed as if it were the freelancer’s personal income
That’s not quite correct. From a well-known accountancy website:
“Starting with the company’s income (net of VAT) from personal service jobs, the calculation sequence is:
- deduct 5%
- deduct all travel and other direct business expenses of the worker
- deduct any company pension contributions for the worker
- deduct er’s NIC
and what you are left with is the required gross pay of the worker”
Iain Duncan Smith committed the tories to abolishing IR35. Michael Howard watered it down to a ‘review’. Now we have the shock news from Call-me-Dave: there will be a review!
The tories can be trusted as much as the rest of the liblabcons, which is fuck all.
It hasn’t raised any extra net revenue. Like all McBust’s ideas it is a meddlesome taxes it costs more to administer than it raises.
It is hard to prove, requires massive resources to bring a case against anyone accused of being caught by it, and very rarely results in revenue. HMRC have won (quite literally) a handful of the many hundreds of cases they have brought – jobs for the boys…
If you want efficiency then cut lots of crap like this.
The whole idea of IR35 wasn’t revenue, it was a favour to big consultancies who donated to Labour (one Anderson Androids).
IR35 was the first example of how easily the Labour Party is bought by corporate interests.
IR35 has cost more to try to enforce than has been recovered in tax. However, it has allowed HMRC to vindictively target the self employed (by no means all geeks). They are, after all, in their eyes, private sector scum.
And probaby nasty nasty Tories.
IR35 has cost more to try to enforce than has been recovered in tax. However, it has allowed HMRC to vindictively target the self employed (by no means all geeks). They are, after all, in their eyes, private sector scum.
That is the important thing about IR35
Precisely. The self-employed are a huge army and by no means all in IT, so most are not employed by ‘agencies’. Most people in eg publishing, sporting media, some areas of sport (eg jockeys), large areas of medicine etc etc are self-employed. The reason Labour hate us is because we aren’t under their control – we are three-thinkers, risk-takers and averse to the Big State which is their aim
Haivbng been self-employed almost all my (40+ yerars) career, with no paid holidays and no paid-in pension, I expect some slack in return by way of expenses set against earnings etc etc.
Beware of geeks Blairing gifs
What the heck is “a fundamental review” and who has heard of Mark Prick MP.
Desperate stuff by the Tories ,Tory Fawkes old chap.
The Tories won’t be scrapping anything.
Mr Brown would stay in Number 10 until he resigns, Whitehall sources say.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1262424/Gordon-Brown-remain-PM-Queen-blocks-second-General-Election.html
He he, that’s Labour fucked then, the prospect of another year let alone another five of this twat, would be enough to get the anti Brown vote out in droves. Nice one McMental, you’ve just shot yourself in the foot.
Gordon Brown could continue as Prime Minister for weeks even if he loses the election, under Whitehall proposals to prevent a run on the pound in the event of a hung parliament
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7539652/Gordon-Brown-could-lose-and-still-be-Prime-Minister.html
The Queen has the power to block an immediate second election if she believed it would be ‘detrimental to the national economy’
She wouldn’t, would she?
Er…..what did I just say meathead? No hung parliament, due to Brown scaring the shit out of the electorate with stunts like this.
The prospect of Brown staying on would cause a run on the pound, not prevent it.
Who the fuck are these Whitehall sources?
This bollocks has Manglebum’s fingerprints all over it.
but the Queen has no power to remove a c’unt who has been ‘detrimental’ to the economy for some years. Oh fucking joy.
Be careful who you call a geek!
Not only geeks a lot of agency hgv drivers use this in various forms.
Seems to me Dave is trying to get everyone to vote for him except Conservatives.
We can handle all your IT remote from here
Yes, you keep saying, but it doesn’t seem to work very well, does it?
Yes ,I know you can .Unfortunately I have difficulty in deciphering your accent when speaking on the ‘phone with you.
WTF did he say?
Something about Curry?
I can handle all the IT from London thanks to the Intra-Company-Transfer scheme
the jubbly is indeed loverly sahib!
As Guido is quick to say – you dont know what you are talking about. By geeks I presume you mean IT wallahs, Guido.
There are many, many professionals out there fighting off IR35. I am one of them. Nothing to do with IT.
Get your facts right and shout 99.
Postle
Fantastic news! Why tax people who try to create businesses!
it’s what we do
[...] Tories to Scrap IR35 – Geeks Rejoice – Guy Fawkes’ blog. [...]
About fucking time – the pain for all independent contractors / consultants and interim managers
Might make it less attractive to outsource all of our IT jobs to India, too!
The Indian IT industry is one step ahead – latest scam is to concoct some ‘green’ IT project which will attract grant funding, open a small office in a regional development area in the UK, pocket the grant, and clear off. The software either isn’t completed, or does not sell because it serves no useful purpose; no matter all the green boxes were ticked.
No British jobs created, no useful software developed, UK taxpayer out of pocket by a couple of million.
Its happening right next door to where I’m working now.
A bit like the GLA under Lizard Livingstoneslime, then!
Figures!!
And all the while we waste billions on ‘green’ projects which will contribute sweet fuck all, we have a future bill of £200+ billion for nuclear power plants which ‘our government’ have lied about for 13 years saying that the energy companies would foot the bill!
Not doing anything clearly means no Carbon produced, therefore it IS a green project! All boxes ticked! Wheee!!!! What fun!
This is the best news since the relief of Mafeking. Labour has always hated the self-employed.
Bra-fuckin-vo!
About time someone sort this out…
First common sense pledge that has been announced.
Why has Brown not set an election date yet?
Now get rid of all the tax credits…!
the 1st rule of efficient taxation : SIMPLICITY
It is often the case that it is the maddeningly insane level of complexity in the tax-system that first forces otherwise honest people to escape into the black economy. When tax experts and accountants are incapable of understanding the tax system due to massively ambiguous rules and overly complicated systems, what the fuck chance have ordinary honest business men and women got?
People are unwittingly breaking the law and getting unfairly penalised all over the place just because the system has been made deliberately far too difficult to understand. A company I have worked for has employed 3 different accountants in the last 18 months to try to sort out their tax affairs and they all disagree with each other as to the companies tax liabilities in law. None of them can work it out!!! This is happening all across the country.
Bravo and kudos to the tories for this tax pledge!
A single Tax on Land Rights is the simplest tax and has the no dead-weight costs.
Even Adam Smith liked this tax.
http://www.landvaluetax.org
Quite right, however political reality says that the blue-rinse brigade would desert Dave in droves for suggesting this.
Sorts out all the dom/non-dom issues though. In the 21st century, “income” is such a nebulous outdated concept, whereas it’s really fucking obvious where land is……
Because he is too busy doling out the last slops from his pork barrel to the ‘deserving’ ZaNuLieBor faithful!
Paragraph 9
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7539800/The-Tories-will-be-the-only-ones-to-benefit-from-public-debates.html
The Geeks will only rejoice when the onanists in the PCP realise that censorship and disconnecting broadband for whole households is not the answer for the Digital Economy Bill.
At least the Lib Dems have – finally – *started* to see the light:
http://bit.ly/9YMO9U
Come on Jeremy “one of the six” Hunt, get over writing your whopping cheque to Legg and start doing some actual work for your party.
Besides robbing us this is some thing else MP’s seem to do and that is railroad us into new laws. I want what it said on the tin when I voted. I don’t want a bunch of shit heads using my vote as a mandate to do what the fuck they want. But that will happen regardless of who gets in . As no matter who that is it will be a different shade of gray, Lib, Lab or Con. And that’s why I won’t be voting for anyone.
NOW I’m voting Tory. Finally a reason that actually can appeal to my “enlightened self-interest”. Huzzah!
Hope they also have a look at the CIS stuff as well. Could also get the building trade vote.
Great Idea – I cannot believe that this system exists it has so many flaws in it – just like the Idiot that introduced it
‘Red’ Dawn Primarolo has a lot to answer for
‘Red’ Dawn Primarolo has a majority of towards 30,000.
Hence she has nothing to answer for.
Postle
Yes, a safe seat like that buys a lot of loyalty towards Brown and ensures they can be counted on to do any dirty/unpleasant work that comes.
Another example that comes to mind is the charming Kevan Jones.
She was responsible for tax credits, which is designed not to work. It’s a scandal what waste and basically fraud happens with them.
She also sold HM buldings to offshore comapnies. Why?
Not just geeks,Guido…anyone on contract to a single organisation,but self employed.
Big news indeed.
Totally awesome news – well dun Dave.
Con’t trust anything the lying Tories say, particularly CAST IRON GUARANTEES.
GO ON GORDON ,YOU CAN DO IT !!!!
Parliament may not reconvene for as long as 18 days following the general election if there is no clear winner, it was reported today.
The 18-day period would provide a window of opportunity for Prime Minister Gordon Brown to try to form a working government with the help of smaller parties – even if Labour is not the party with the most seats.
Only after almost three weeks would MPs have to gather at Westminster for a motion of no confidence from the Conservatives, The Guardian said.
Speculation over the possibility of a hung Parliament prompted Mr Brown to commission the head of the Civil Service, Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell, to draw up a manual setting out officially for the first time the procedures to be following if an election does not produce a decisive result.
A chapter from the manual published by Sir Gus on February 24 made clear that, in the case of a hung Parliament, the incumbent Labour government and Mr Brown will remain in office until the Prime Minister tenders his resignation to the Queen.
Mr Brown is entitled to await the first meeting of the new Parliament to see whether he can command the confidence of the Commons, and is expected to resign if it becomes clear that he is unlikely to do so, said the manual.
Brown announced his plans “to go on and on” even if he LOST the election two weeks ago on R4.
He didn’t need any election to become PM why should a general election matter to him?
I expect him to hang on even with a 100 seat Conservative majority. It is his right . . . he will continue to do the right thing . . . it started in America . . .
Now they are “re-interpreting” the law to ensure that Brown can stay as PM even if he LOSES the election and has a smaller number of seats than the tories.
I know people are pissed at the first past the post system, but that system is a hell of a lot better than the second past the post system!
IF such a scenario happens, get ready for the BBC to defend by describing it as a “quirk of our democracy.” instead of the decent into desperate totalitarian dictatorship that is actually will be.
Then we would not only (as we are now) be run by appointees in the EU with some powers left over for a slightly democratically elected Government headed by a man who was NOT elected to his post by anyone, but we would be lead by a man who LOST the election and so could only be described as a dictator, an unelected, or even ANTI-elected leader with no mandate AT ALL, NONE WHATSOEVER…
You watch, if this happens, the BBC will be the apologists for our dictatorship.
So it’s now official. McDoom does not intend to leave Downing Street regardless of the result of an election.
Just about sums up the rabid, monocular, imbecilic dictator.
(and the Guardian and Martin Day think this is a good thing)
I see trouble on the streets.
It’s actually a wonderful idea.
1. Labour loses its overall majority but is unable to form a government.
2. Broon stays on in Downing Street and refuses to hand over the seals of office.
3. A tidal wave of non-Labour voters force their way in and physically remove him.
4. HM the Queen, the Police and the Armed Forces have to decide whether they are aligned with the people or with the Labour Party.
simples.
Fuck me..you must be really rattled now.
Bring it on!
Talking of Geeks… as a Global Warming geek, I heard on the news today that the non-scientific “Commons Science and Technology Committee” of MPs have decided that the UEA Climate Research Unit’s science was alright. Well, that’s good to know… Upon what basis did they, as non-scientists, form this opinion? Did they see an omen in their tea-leaves??
We need a truly independent scientist to review GW – and definitely not one who has his snout in the research grant trough.
Don’t worry, I’ll save you from being boiled alive in floodwater.
Thats because there is no science involved in the first place
True. So lets fine them the fee’s and grants they have had, if they pay we won’t charge them with fraud and deception, and not jail them for 10 years. let them pick.
Well there might be, but there are so many vested interests in the way, its impossible to get to the actual science now.
I resent your accusation`s of unprofessionalism and that there is a lack of science at the heart of AGW.
For my part, my modest grant of £1.7 million per annum for life, is dependent on me getting the science just right and ensuring none of the methodology falls into the wrong hands, in the interests of national security you understand.
While flying around the world endlessly, I have gathered evidence from mountains, glaciers, beach resorts and luxury hotels, that leads me to the inevitable conclusion that, our valuable work must continue indefinately.
SPOT ON!
That gets it said.
By Allah’s beard let us rejoice
This makes me angry. I’ll have to beat up a female in my office. I hate women.
…and don’t I fucking know it!
If you’ve been battered, you’re lucky you haven’t ended up in the deep fat fryer as well.
That would meam yet another qwango? I thought the Irish Party were against more qwangos
Can my wife use this?
No she’s just using you!
Let’s just hope Liebore don’t offer free DVD boxsets of Buffy to try and woo the geek vote. Knowing Liebore, they’d probably be faulty DVDs too.
Just region 1
Wrong region probably. Shouldn’t take the geeks long to decode ‘em though.
It’ll be on Betamax tapes
Hang the bankers!
Box sets of Buffy!?
They’d probably be Geoff Hoon’s home videos…
About time, too.
IR35 was indeed overly complex and unfair, but it was also a waste of time. Almost every case was strongly contested, costing HMRC so much that in nett terms the scheme hardly raised any money at all.
It was just a Labour spite measure against small business/ self employed.
I do so hope that the scrapping of this scheme means the redundancy of the utter bastard of a tax inspector that hounded me for 4 years over an IR35 claim that cost me thousands in legal fees to defend myself.
You should have pissed off to Belize
Ashcroft Ashcroft Ashcroft! This election is all about Ashcroft! Not the fucked economy, cabs for hire, illegal war, Dr Kelly, 10p a week extra for pensioners, Blair’s £20m blood money, Brown’s bullying, hospital deaths, or Margaret Beckett’s hanging baskets on expenses. It’s all about Ashcroft. That’s what the average voter cares about most of all. Ashcroft Ashcroft Ashcroft! Vote Labour because…er…Ashcroft!
Am I right that there’s no PMQs today? That gutless Huhne McRuin is probably over the moon he doesn’t have to make up an excuse to avoid PMQs like he usually does. Only one session left before the election, then. He’ll probably duck out of that one too.
I think you’ll find it’s because Parliament os on its Easter hols already.
Fecking twats, they all ought to be on a permanent holiday, why can’t the cnuts just have Good Friday and Easter Monday off like 98% of this country.!!
David Cameron: ‘I’m ready to be as hated as Margaret Thatcher’
You already are you ignorant Hoon
Brown aspires to being merely that despised. Compared to Brown Thatcher is revered like Churchill.
Not on the BBC or in the Guardian – they still think he saved the world.
They are being wilfully fucking stupid. It’s just pure blackguarding on their part.
So constructive.
That isn’t concrete pump, i am.
FFS, some left wing troll has obviously thought that my ndp is useful and is using it for his own ends.
concrete pump is right wing, repeat 10 times.
Yes Gordon, No Gordon, Three Bags Full Gordon. I must continue to do my Master’s bidding.
They only brought in IR35 because they goofed up with the 0% rate of corporation tax. Having abolished that, they kept IR35 just because they hate independent people and want to hurt them whenever possible. The thought of anybody doing anything unregulated by the state puts any socialist into a rage.
They also had a go at introducing NI on dividends. The first draft would have applied across the board, but that would have affected many MPs who channel their outside interests through one man limited companies, so it was kicked into touch sharpish.
The proposal was refined a few more times until it focused on the ‘right’ people – small independent businesses.
Yep. A very good general rule for determining whether a fringe benefit is taxable is to ask whether civil servants get it. If they do, it isn’t. If they don’t, it is.
I’m going to rig this election. Because it’s the right thing to do. I’m not scared of elections. That’s a disgusting slur on my character.
Whatever happened to Dawn Primarolo?
She hangs upside down in a wardrobe until sunset, and then terrorizes the local fanny.
http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/m3/oct2007/9/6/D6CA4877-EDFB-9F8F-5180A74EBED2B974.jpg
In the room the women come and go
Talking of Dawn Primarolo….
Prawn Dimarolo has gone back to her native environment in the deep oceans of Gorgon’s global fantasy.
At least we hope so.
Now all they need is to remove the H&S and licensing idiocy in this country.
Two simple rules would be easy to implement:
H&S only applies to employees that are ordered to do a job. HSE can not make rulings that apply to individuals/self employed, they can only apply to managers who supply equipment or direct works. (HSE should concentrate on free training to individuals, but can only suggest methods, not force). HSE and timeserved workers should have a new method of working, where long term methods of work are immune from HSE interference.
Removal of the “licenses” and “compulsory training” for household wiring, plumbing and windows jobs. It is impossible to now be a proper multi-trade local resource in a remote village as the work available does not support the time and money to maintain the licensing conditions. This is a protection racket lobbied for by the big companies to freeze out the local timeserved tradesmen. This is how the workforce used to retire, with grace, by moving to local handyman type jobs. Now they are just on redundancy and state aid and forced to be idle. By licensing you just end up with the minimal trained workforce.
That would get all the non-geeks on board.
Aye. You can’t even disconnect your own electric hop to replace a worksurface without getting the reconnection okayed by an ‘electrician’. Fucking hell – I’d back myself to remember which wire went where. And if I was forgetful I’d fucking well write it down before I started wouldn’t I?
As you say – just protectionism. All part of the ongoing infantilisation of the population. Our kids will be afraid to put a fuse in or change a bulb. Better get a professional eh?
I was in Canada twenty years ago and my cousins kids would take a bicycle puncture to the bike shop. Not a fucking clue how to do anything for themselves. We’re headed the same fucking way.
Absurd, isn’t it? As a qualified electronics engineer, I worked with all sorts of potentially lethal kit for more than 10 years and yet I’m supposed to call out an electrician with the ‘right’ qualifications to get anything done in my own home.
I just ignore all of these jobsworth laws and if I ever get caught I will say simply that it wasn’t me, it was an American .
I have worked for local authorities for over 30 years but have now been frozen out due to health and safety red tape. You see large companies now doing the work on much higher rates who employ idiots on low wages and who have no experiance but they have the time and can afford the expense of getting all red tape in place.
See my post @ 87
IR35 and other over-Regulation are lobbied for by big firms to freeze out rivals that undercut them.
Any thing obtained by lobbying should be recindered without any debate.
Hey lads! My minge ain’t been abolished! Wa-hey! Ain’t I nawty?! Come and get a slice of Moran Pie! Just £5000 a day! I’m a reet good bargain, lads!
Margaret Moran – gives a whole new meaning to ‘Won’t get out of bed for less than 5,000 quid’.
Just ask her constituents.
Who does she think she is? Kate-fucking-Moss?
Kin L, That’s a worser punishment than Gui do got for driving under the influence.
Pet shop owner fined £1,000 and told to wear an electronic tag… for selling a GOLDFISH to a boy aged 14
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1262250/Pet-shop-owner-sold-goldfish-boy-fined-given-electronic-tag.html
The evidence was a bit fin but the were obviously gillty
No No No your not gonna “catch” me with that one
April the first is tomorrow
i am so pleased to see the real criminals getting punished for their crimes against the people
and that at last we have a government
that go round trying to entrap the public into breaking the law
so as to justfie all the non jobs they have created “ie trading standards entrapment officer” “anti smoking police” etcthis deflects the public eye off the petty criminals stealing millions off the tax payers and being bribed by big companies to alter the laws of the land
i’ll bet they dont go round the fairgrounds hassling the gypo’s who give goldfish in plastic bags and then when the fair moves off all remaining goldfish are just tipped on the floor no they wouldn’t do that would they ?
A future fair for goldfish
Seems a bit fishy to me.
That £1000 fine is a bit steep, I only got 200 hours Community Service which I paid me cousin to do for me.
the plant to criminalize everyone is going good Gordon. Once it is in place we can do anything
We too will do this
This evil old bitch deserves to be publicy flogged for such a heinous crime.
the “scales” of labour justice
“catch” another “big fish” in britains “pond life” underworld of crime
she should have sold him a bag of weed thenshe would have only got a caution !
It’s not your plaice to comment on this, if you do you’ll lose your sole.
What a fuck-up this country has become under Labour.
We here at the Labour Broadcasting Huhneoration pledge to do all we can to return a fourth Labour government to power. Because they’ve promised to leave us alone if we do, that’s why. And now for another repeat of Last of the Summer Wine. It’s non-political and non-controversial and Lord Mandelson says we need more safe, clean, anodyne programmes like it.
If the Conservatives want the geek vote then it has got to ban the ICT’s.
Will they ever do that? No chance. Bob Shawadiwadi is here to stay.
Hey, it’s only thirty thousand jobs a year.
“British jobs for Indian Workers”
That’s what the lads are chanting down the socialist “workers” clubs these days.
“That is the geek vote sewn up…”
What could they do for a doofus?
Most RBS work is carried out in India
but the british staff are sworn to secrecy
and have to take all the abuse for the fuck ups and correct all the mistakes they make but cannot tell anyone
Will you miss me and my comedy stylings?
Yes! i just have to see your silly face and i piss myself laughing.
Just wait till I’m a scouser MP, I’m growing a beard and using the catch phrase ‘My Fanny’ That should win a few votes with the natives.
Gordon grew himself a beard. He married it.
A good start, now what about this:
Tax inspectors to clamp down on people ‘before they break law’
Tax inspectors have been given draconian powers to pursue people who have not broken current laws but may be in breach of future legislation which has yet to be drawn up by Parliament.
Robert Winnett, Deputy Political Editor
Published: 4:41PM BST 19 Oct 2009
New guidance from HM Revenue and Customs now defines tax avoiders as those seeking to pay less tax than “if Parliament turned its mind to the specific issue in question”.
The rules are likely to lead to tens of thousands of people who arrange their financial affairs in perfectly legal ways being investigated by tax inspectors.
Last night, accountants and lawyers described the rules as a “wholly unwarranted extension” of HMRC’s powers which threatened to undermine the democratic right of Parliament to set the law.
The new “code of practice” for tax inspectors was reissued last month without public announcement.
In the key passage defining tax avoidance – and therefore which practices may be pursued – it now states: “Avoidance is not defined in the Taxation Acts…One definition is ‘a situation where less tax is paid than Parliament intended, or more tax would have been paid, if Parliament turned its mind to the specific issue in question’. At a practical level the problem is then essentially one of deciding what Parliament would have intended and identifying who should be asked to decide this.”
“Inspectors need to have in simple terms a working concept of ‘avoidance’ in order to properly identify cases which can be worked…The starting point should be that one would normally expect taxpayers to pay tax on their income or profits…It is reasonable to assume that where a commercial transaction is carried out in a particularly convoluted way, then avoidance is afoot.”
It is understood that leading accountants and tax lawyers have met to discuss the potentially sweeping nature of the new guidance. The legality of the rules may be challenged in court if a taxpayer is pursued for breaking a law which does not yet exist.
HMRC has already faced criticism for applying new tax laws retrospectively. Thousands of families who had established trusts were recently hit by retrospective rules.
Last night, Mike Warburton, an accountant at Grant Thornton, said: “We live in a democracy where the law is supposed to be set by our elected representatives.
“In disputes, the courts are entitled to consider what Parliament intended but it is a wholly unwarranted extension of this principle for HMRC to decide what Parliament would have intended if they had bothered to think about it. It is the start of a slippery slope towards a police state.”
However, a spokesman for HMRC defended the advice. “There has been no change in what HMRC sees as avoidance,” he said. “The updated guidance explicitly states that there is no definition of avoidance but offers a short and simple starting point for staff.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/tax/6376804/Tax-inspectors-to-clamp-down-on-people-before-they-break-law.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/23/census-worker-hanged-with_n_297114.html
Tax inspectors to clamp down on people ‘before they break law’
+
Obligation of accountants to secretly declare tax avoidance schemes
=
Guilty for thinking about doing something that is currently legal
=
Bastard child of Orwell & Kafka
A most misleading headline, Paul.
“Tories to scrap IR35″
In fact you go on to say the Tories will request a fundamental review of current arrangements.
How long might this take??
Difficult as it is please try publishing come policies of David Cameron’s Conservatives please.
There is no rush and please take your time
‘Come policies’ ?? That’s my department.
I intend to ignore the General Election results and instead proclaim Gordon Brown, Prime Minister for another five years.
I would very much like to know what Silent Bob thinks about this.
” .”
Silent Bob, I knew you would say that. I agree fully with you.
At long last! Self-employed software engineers have been complaining about this for years.
It’s only a fundamental review you Tory twerp
Get your own fucking name you c*nt, and stop sullying mine.
You’re not very good at identity fraud either…
Brown on immigration on TV…
“For centuries Britain has been the beacon of freedom”
Yep,until you took over power,Prick…..if you’re British you’re fucked.
British jobs for British workers,eh?
David Cameron’s Tories: the damning verdict of Guido Fawkes.
ALL TORIES ARE HOONS !!!!!
ALL HOONS ARE NOT TORIES !!!
Mr Fawkes, please delete this comment as it’s not the genuine article……and I mean article.
McMental spewing forth about immigration. He’s concerned about immigrants taking the benefits of the country without making contributions – ha ha ha, like he cares.
He’s controlling immigration (yeah right). Points based system is controlling immigrants. Only high skilled people are entering Britain, he says. Pressure on public services will be helped by clamping down on illegal immigrants. Newcomers will have to earn the right to stay – hmmmm how will he do that if he doesn’t know how many there are or where they are.
He’s talking about the 17th Century immigrants – duh! We are getting a history lesson now – did he major in history at Uni? Yawwwwwwn.
Immigration levels are down to the level of those in the 1990s – is this true? But what about the ones the office of national statistics don’t know about – and there are many. What about those failed immigrants who haven’t been sent home. He is quoting figures but where are they coming from.
1 million EU citizens are working in Britain – 1 million Britains are working in the EQ – how convenient are those figures – exactly 1 million isn’t that amazing.
I’ve heard enough. I don’t believe a word that comes out of this man’s mouth. Lies, damned lies and statistics……………….
’MALADROIT’ – The Liebour definition of Gerrymandering on an industrially epic scale
‘I do not lie awake at night worrying about a population of 70million.’
Alan Johnson, Home Secretary, July 2009
Yeah, makes you wonder what he does lie awake in bed worrying about.
that’s really odd…….in my local job centre their are hundreds of foriegners on the dole.very nice too.free rent..free money…………free driving lessons (true-one of them told me the dole had paid for his driving lessons to help him get a job)…..
bikes,buses and trains are not any good you see……………..
or what about the asian workers flown in to kit out restaurants?
it’s cheaper to fly them in (then pay them f/a) than to hire british workers……….
The figures are correct because , i said so….
Gordon’s the main man bruv
self- employed?
i think you are missing the point fawkes…….
here in the year zero everyone is to work for the state.
anyone even thinking of earning money will be hunted down ruthlessly…..
(except our friends and families of course)
We’re all doing jobs critical to the UK economy, like Traffic Wardens, supermarket security guards, cleaners…
New Labour.
The Piss stains and skid marks on the UK’s underpants.
Did Red Smurf Dawn primarolo ever have anything to do with Andersen Consulting in the dim and distant past ?
Right-handmaden of Weggie Benn, married to a regional Unison secretary…
Political lifer spawned from one of Bristol’s nastier eras.
Jeez, someone married Prawn. Un-fuckin-believable. Some people have no taste. She (?) probably tasts nasty too.
Andersen Consulting was part of the disgraced Arthur Andersen accounting group until 2000,when they split away due to severe differences.
Andersen Consulting is now Accenture,and prosperous.
Arthur Andersen does not exist.
It was Hewitt what came from Andersen
Affectionately known in Whitehall as Dim Prawnarolo.
David Cameron is savaged in powerful blog from Guido Fawkes.
Nice work, Guido, keep in going my son
You’re back on the Wankers Anonymous programme again I see.
Hi Jonty !
Still sucking Cock ?
Brown talking on TV about immigration at the moment.
There’s one immigrant over the rest we would all like to see go home for good – in this case back to Scotland
(Sky has just cut the gurner off in mid-speech ha ha ha!!)
My Sky HD box just died in midsentence during Gorgon’s immigration speech. Shit, even the inanimate box didn’t like all the lies.
Hahahahahaha…..Both Sky and BBC have switched Brown off in mid sentence on immigration.
Sky saying..”if you really want to hear Brown talking about immigration,press your red button”
LOL
That will teach him to tell me what I can charge
What the fuck does brown mean about immigration.
Its ok we have had 1,000,000 people leave to WORK abroad and we have let 1,000,000 million lazy bastards come here so its OK.
So 1,000,00 divided by say 30 countiues, is around 30K per country and we get 1 fucking million lazy scummy money grabbing turds.
this man wants more because our educations system is shit and we need CLEVER people, what a twat
joolz
First non jury trial brings in guilty verdict
This is what they did when, after almost 1,000 years this vile government repealed ‘double jeopardy’. It got its first public outing to retry (and convict) a murderer who’d been a bit too gobby about how he ‘got away’ with it.
See, they know it’s hard to put together an argument to disagree with that result. But then they immediately started off showing you why should disagree with that result. Because then they went after Abu Hamza and tried and retried him over ‘Inciting Terrorism’ or somesuch. And again the left and right are all cheering it on. And then they tried and retried their political opponent Nick Gr*ffin. And still no fucker sees which way this is headed.
Same now with this ‘no jury’ trial. I don’t know if the accused are guilty or not. But that’s not the point. Even if they are guilty it really does matter how we convict ‘em. Because if the last few years of politicisation of the CPS, the police and even the speakers office to the point where opposition MPs can be accused and arrested for ‘reasons of national security’ then these vile fuckers will have us all up in front of closed courts to shut us up.
CU*NTS.
Then no courts at all
The very first person we should be arresting and prosecuting and retrying until he runs out of money to defend himself is Jack ‘the torturers apprentice’ Straw.
is it coincidence that labour are all over the telly and radio? making speeches?
tony.gordon. surely they wouldn’t be trying to get an unfair advantage before an election is called?
i mean all they really want is FAIRNESS!!!!!!!!!!
like the tories having to win 6% more votes?
hmmm.that’s FAIRNESS again…….
how about some coverage of gordons gay adventures or ali darling being a member of the international marxist group that supported the IRA?
how does a man like this get to hold the purse strings for the British Army?
come on fawkes……….pull your finger out!
Just how independent will the new independent Office of Tax Simplification be? Should they not be left alone to independently review what they want? Could anyone tell me the difference between the parties.
I thought it was Fawkes job to blow up the house’s of parliament. when is he going to get on with the job
[...] Chinese Water Torture 31 03 2010 So George told us he is going to reverse National Insurance Contributions, and now it looks like Dave is going to scrap IR35. [...]
It’s all a load of pollocks
IR35 was basically the nocturnal ramblings of the dysfunctional hoon McTwat translated, as best they could, into some tax law that nobody really understood.
Kill IR35 dead…
Brown standing for the Far Left, I mean on the far left, I mean for the Far Left:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/mar/31/gordon-brown-eyesight-left-tv-debates
Mandelson says: “It’s the right thing to do, and I’ll know which lectern to fix the prompting devices to”
Guido
Can we have a separate blog post on the discussions this morning on the arrangments if there is no clear majority at the election? It seems from my reading of the FT article that that, “Sir Gus’s rulebook confirms that Gordon Brown would remain as prime minister – and would have the first chance to form a government – even if Labour ended up with fewer seats than the Tories in a hung parliament.”
Nick Clegg has rejected the idea but this is worrying stuff because the ‘rules’ are not enshrined in a constitution and are now apparently under the control of an unelected civil servant. We need a better solution than this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enabling_Act_of_1933
I was a History student.
and Dave,the non warrior just said “we will pass over that”,Huhne,useless shit
The joke is of course that Brown staying on would have precisely the effect of causing a run on the pound.
Another one? But he’s already caused one run on the pound!
Cameron is making me yawn,climate change..yawn..boring
Great news. How about scrapping “National Insurance” completely
Re-balance budget by increasing corporation tax for the employer part making it a tax on profit not jobs. Scrap all tax credits and personal allowances replace tax bands with a variable tax rate that ramps up to a top rate at say 50K thus removing all the “poverty traps” from the system. Have a constitution that commits administrations to campaign for election specifying spending commitment in terms of a percentage of GDP and growth predictions in return for a fixed term of 3 years. If administrations meet pre-election growth predictions and keep within budget the term is extended to 5 years.
Lets have some radical changes and make politicians accountable for the management of the country, reward good governance and limit the damage waisters like Brown can do in the future
Geeks. And journalists, and graphic designers, and authors, and illustrators and trainers and consultants and… and… Wow! There’s lots!
Friend of mine just got a tax demand for 20p. Yup, 20p. Anyone got any idea how much it costs the fools to process that?
Dunno. But he’d best send the fuckers a 20p cheque or they’ll hit him with a £200 fine plus court costs.
A 2nd class stamp is 30p for a start.
Anyone can promise a review, but Guido is not party hack and would see right through that. It takes rare political courage to promise a fundamental review. Hurrah for the Bully!
Did you say “Greeks”?
I may have to silently enter Drowning street and remove the one eyed, thieving bastard myself before the queen has to make a decision
Here’s a supplementary article to this feature. Might be an interesting read for everyone. Pretty much the same news, but you might get new insight/details on this IR35 issue.
http://freelancesupermarket.com/news/2010/3/31/tories-make-landmark-announcement-on-ir35.aspx
If the Conservatives win the general election, they will undertake an immediate and comprehensive review of the small business tax system in this country, with particular emphasis on IR35.
Dave,
Please take a wrecking ball to all of Labour’s over-administrated, false-economy Taxation schemes..
Yes, do the objectionable IR35 first.. But don’t stop there!
Hallelujah. I have to account for every penny I earn as a freelancer and all the while those cock-sucking thieves in Westminster were crooking us all big time. Lay them all in a long line and run a steamroller over the lot and jump up and down on the pieces.
Uh sorry -did the quote say they were going to get rid of it. No – another quango – “independent” – so they’re not seen to take responsibility for the decisions. And if it’s really independent, how can they know that it will come up with removing IR35 ?
Utter bullshit statement, and a classic of why real people are pissed off with the lot of them.
What Consultant says above about Timms above is correct and this probably warrants further investigation.
At one point Ovum tried to sell itself for reportedly around GBP 8.5 million but failed to find a buyer.
Ovum was subsequently sold to Datamonitor – who, not much later sold itself, Ovum included, to Informa plc.
Were profits made by Timms on the acquisition or does he still hold shares in the firm to this day? I think we should be told……
Looks like IR35 disappearing might leave a lot of “service providers” out of pocket – e.g. accountants, inventors of tax solutions within the freelance industry. See here – http://www.contracteye.co.uk/clearsky_ir35_review_claims.shtml