Late last night, the government announced that the changes to IR35 will be delayed by one year, due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
IR35, also known as off-payroll legislation, was due to be extended in the private sector on 6 April this year, despite heavy criticism.
Speaking in the House of Commons yesterday, HM Treasury Minister announced that given the circumstances and Coronavirus pandemic, HMRC would delay the roll-out of the changes to IR35 for a year.
Andy Chamberlain, Director of Policy at IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) said: “The government has done the sensible thing by delaying the changes to IR35 in the private sector.
“These changes have already undermined the incomes of many self-employed businesses across the UK. However, they would have done even more serious damage if they had gone ahead as planned.
“It is right and responsible to delay the changes to IR35 for at least a year during the Coronavirus crisis, to reduce the strain and income loss for self-employed businesses.
“This is a sensible step to limit the damage to self-employed businesses in this grave and unprecedented situation, but we also urge the government to do more. It must create an emergency Income Protection Fund to keep the UK’s crucial self-employed businesses afloat.”
For more information, visit IPSE’s IR35 hub here.
