Ahead of Tax Administration and Maintenance Day this Thursday, April 18th when the Government has pledged to tell the industry how they will tackle tax avoidance in the umbrella industry, Crawford Temple, CEO of Professional Passport, the UK’s largest independent assessor of payment intermediary compliance fires a message to the Government saying:
“On Budget Day, we heard more promises that we would learn more about the government's plans to tackle tax avoidance in the umbrella sector in the upcoming Tax Administration and Maintenance Day planned for April 18th.
“It has been over two years since the original call for evidence into unethical umbrella company practices, yet in the time since, we have seen an endless parade of consultations, evidence sessions, and discussion papers – with not a single meaningful enforcement measure implemented. The result is a crisis of non-compliance intensifying and staining the entire sector's reputation.
“The Government’s consultation into tackling tax non-compliance in the umbrella industry suggested that they may consider mandating that due diligence is conducted by the end-hirer or employment firms. Placing more onus on the market to self-police is a high-risk strategy and would, in my opinion, simply provide a road map for the non-compliant operators to navigate and dodge compliant processes at will, allowing them to thrive. The Government cannot abnegate its responsibilities by offloading due diligence onto the supply chain. If it chooses to introduce this measure then it will become even more imperative for agencies to introduce rigorous measures to follow particularly when choosing their umbrella partners.
“Let’s hope that on Thursday, we see the government finally stepping up to the plate and mapping out a clear path forward to help the industry navigate these challenging times. The time for empty rhetoric and inaction has long passed. The government must take concrete, robust measures to rein in the rampant abuse occurring within the umbrella company market.”
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