HMRC lose IR35 case

In the February newsletter we reported the Tax Tribunal decision involving Christa Ackroyd Media Ltd, a company set up by a TV presenter to supply her services to the BBC, where it was held that the IR35 personal service company rules applied to the arrangements. In a recent case involving a night manager on a building site, another tribunal decided that the IR35 rules did not apply.

The facts of the recent case involve a Mr Daniels supplying his services via his company MDCM Ltd. These are entirely different from those in the Christa Adcock case but it indicates that the current rules are very unclear and open to interpretation by the courts.

For the rules to apply it must be inferred that under the hypothetical contract between “worker” and client that worker would be regarded as an employee if directly engaged. There are numerous factors taken into account, but the most important factor considered by the courts is the extent to which the “worker” is under the control of the client.

The IR35 tax legislation was designed to combat tax avoidance by workers supplying services via an intermediary, such as a limited company, but who would usually be considered an employee if the intermediary wasn’t in place.

Please contact us if you wish to discuss whether these recent cases impact on your particular circumstances.