Finance Bill — Schedule 1 — Workers’ Services Provided Through Intermediaries — Responsibility for Determining if Off-Payroll Working Rules Apply — 1 Jul 2020 at 21:00

The majority of MPs voted not to delay shifting responsibility for determining if off-payroll working rules apply from an individual’s personal service company to their client (where the client isn't a small company). The rejected proposal was to delay implementation of the changes by two years from 2021-22 to 2023-24.

MPs were considering the Finance Bill.^[1]

The amendment rejected by a majority of MPs in this vote was:

• Amendment proposed: 20, page 97, line 15, leave out “2021-22” and insert “2023-24”.

Had it not been rejected the amendment would have impacted paragraph 24 of Schedule 1 of the Bill which stated:

• The amendments made by Part 1 of this Schedule have effect for the tax year 2021-22 and subsequent tax years.

Part 1 related the taxation of "Workers' services provided through intermediaries to small clients". During consideration in committee Minister Jesse Norman MP explained^[3]:

• The new clause and new schedule 1 make changes to ensure that the off-payroll working reform is extended to medium and large-sized organisations in all sectors outside the public sector from April 2021.
• The reform moves the responsibility for determining whether the off-payroll working rules apply from an individual’s personal service company to the client engaging them. It also requires the client, or the party paying the individual’s personal service company to account for and deduct employment taxes where they are due, rather than that responsibility resting with the individual’s personal service company. The change is not the imposition of a new tax, but is focussed on improving compliance with the already existing off-payroll working rules.

An explanatory note from the proposer of the amendment stated:

• This amendment and 21 to 36 and 57 seeks to delay the introduction of the IR35 changes until the tax year 2023-24.
• [1] Parliament's webpage on the Finance Bill, Parliament.uk
• [2] Finance Bill as at the time of the vote, Parliament.uk
• [3] Jesse Norman MP (Conservative, Hereford and South Herefordshire, Finance Bill Committee, House of Commons, Official Record, 18 June 2020

Debate in Parliament |