Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to undertake a review of IR35 legislation ahead of the introduction of Off-Payroll tax.

A consultation on the detail of extending reform of the off-payroll rules closed in May and the Government will publish its response in due course. The Government is considering the responses to that consultation, which will be taken into account in the design of the draft Finance Bill legislation which will be published on 11 July.

The off-payroll working rules (commonly known as IR35) are designed to ensure that individuals who work like employees pay broadly the same income tax and national insurance contributions (NICs) as employees, regardless of the structure they work through. The rules have been in place since 2000.

HMRC data shows non-compliance with these rules is widespread. To address this, the Government is extending the previous reforms for the public sector to all medium and large organisations from April 2020. This reform will ensure better compliance with the rules. It does not introduce a new tax.

HMRC have measured the impact of reforming the off-payroll rules in the public sector and estimate the reform has already raised an additional £550 million in income tax and NICs in the first 12 months since it was introduced. HMRC also published independent research into the impact of these reforms in May 2018.