HMRC must take action on umbrella non-compliance says Professional Passport

Professional Passport CEO, Crawford Temple, has spoken out against HMRC, suggesting the taxing authority needs to take more responsibility when it comes to non-compliant umbrellas. 

The head of HMRC, Jim Harra, has been criticised for his lack of progress in addressing tax avoidance and fraud – which is resulting in significant economic losses for the UK each year.

This a particularly pressing issue for the umbrella sector, which has grown expeditiously since IR35 reforms. In fact, fraudulent umbrella providers are constantly robbing HMRC of hundreds of millions of pounds by dodging tax contributions such as National Insurance, income tax and VAT.

With most of these non-compliant brollies are slipping through HMRC’s net, innocent contractors are being put in positions of vulnerability while perfectly compliant providers are being given a bad reputation. 

As a result, key industry figures are urging HMRC for change in the form of stricter rules and regulations on compliance in the umbrella world.

Crawford said: “HMRC’s activity across all aspects of compliance in the sector is practically non-existent. HMRC has all the data it needs to identify the perpetrators of these schemes and it must tap into that information quicker and be more proactive in its effort to find the architects of the dodgy schemes and close them down.”

Dave Chaplin, CEO of IR35 compliance firm IR35 shield added: “It’s critical that HMRC finally listens to the feedback and acts, because there is an urgent need for tax authorities to prioritise prevention and timeliness when addressing tax avoidance schemes, as they are on the rise.”

Here at Mint Umbrella, we are Professional Passport approved. If you are interested in working with us, please get in touch on 02039676846 today.