Budget 2018

[Duke]

Anyone got a calculator handy for the new tax income thresholds? My rent's just gone up by £50pcm so wondering how close I'll get to covering that (I love wages falling behind living costs for 5+ years, it's awesome). Is the NI UEL changing in line aswell?

What job do you do that’s meant you can’t change to something better paid or progress?

 

[413x]

Meh. Don't need a calculator. Probs no difference for us.
Dissapointed no environmental spending increases... But never mind its not like that matters

 

[{SAS}TB]

Calculator here

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17442946

Anyone earning over £50k expecting a nice reduction in tax due to increased thresholds, you need to allow for the offset of increased NI

 

[DJMK4]

Threshold is an increase which is welcomed along with higher rate tax change. Possibly an extra £50 a month better off (apparently), this email I'll most likely go in to addition to increasing my pension

 

[Bear]

IR35 changes to private sector are annoying but there will always be ways round it I guess

Well the obvious way round it if you are captured would be to raise your rate to compensate, but how many clients will be willing to agree to a 25% rate increase? Its either that or to ensure that you work for a clued up client that treats you as a proper contractor.

The whole thing is a mess and complete nonsense. If many are deemed inside IR35 and are paid and treated as employees, then there will be challenges made for obtaining employees rights.

 

[VincentHanna]

Quite a lot of IT contractors here aren't there? You might want to be aware of this:

Hundreds of thousands of private-sector contractors face higher tax and National Insurance (NI) bills from April 2020.

The chancellor announced that tighter tax rules for those working in the public sector will be extended to those working for private firms.

The rules, known as IR35, are designed to hit those deemed by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to be employees.

Among those affected will be IT contractors, engineers and consultants.

The crackdown is the biggest revenue-raising measure in this year's Budget.

Critics accused the chancellor of hurting thousands of people who are self-employed, and burdening businesses too.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46021558

 

[ThundyCat]

Have I missed something or is there no more funding for the Police?

 

[dl8860]

Well the obvious way round it if you are captured would be to raise your rate to compensate, but how many clients will be willing to agree to a 25% rate increase? Its either that or to ensure that you work for a clued up client that treats you as a proper contractor.

The whole thing is a mess and complete nonsense. If many are deemed inside IR35 and are paid and treated as employees, then there will be challenges made for obtaining employees rights.

Quite a lot of IT contractors here aren't there? You might want to be aware of this:



https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46021558

So anyone working as a contractor but inside IR35 will now technically be eligible for 21 days holiday minimum? And statutory sick pay? And other employee's rights. I'm pretty sure firms hiring contractors do NOT want this to be the case. But if they don't put you on payroll, then they are the ones who are potentially liable to penalties according to the new legislation. It's going to kill the contracting sector, which will be terrible news, not just for contractors but for whole industries that use them.

 

[Kemik]

Nice to finally see the ideological end of cutting our way out of trouble and eliminating the deficit, we're going back to spending our way forward to stimulate the economy....magic money tree anyone?

I think he mentioned day to day spending has broken even. The balance will be capital projects. I might have misunderstood though.

 

[icehot]

Quite, they're would be riots on this forum is this came from John McDonnell .

Yea but they would be justified because it would be consecutive budgets with further spending from that magic money tree

 

[grudas]

the rates are going to go up to compensate for tax increases, simples.

 

[Chris1712]

What job do you do that’s meant you can’t change to something better paid or progress?

Oh I'm trying, believe me. It's just so frustrating constantly dealing with a rising tide. Software engineering wages are crap outside London, but I don't really want the London lifestyle especially. But equally the cost of living increases have been vast outside of London the last few years, and wages aren't keeping up. At least in London inflation seems to work for CoL and wages, rather than stagnating wages everywhere else.

 

[TJM]

Have I missed something or is there no more funding for the Police?

When the long promised boost in NHS funding is excluded, the average rise in funding across departments is 0%.

 

[Bear]

So anyone working as a contractor but inside IR35 will now technically be eligible for 21 days holiday minimum? And statutory sick pay? And other employee's rights. I'm pretty sure firms hiring contractors do NOT want this to be the case. But if they don't put you on payroll, then they are the ones who are potentially liable to penalties according to the new legislation. It's going to kill the contracting sector, which will be terrible news, not just for contractors but for whole industries that use them.

The Plimlico plumbers and the HMRC marketing case showed it can be challenged to get workers rights. It will kill off contracting as we currently know it and the flexible workforce business likes to retain unless clients obtain the required competences to engage contractors properly

 

[Steedie]

The Plimlico plumbers and the HMRC marketing case showed it can be challenged to get workers rights. It will kill off contracting as we currently know it and the flexible workforce business likes to retain.

I think in terms of IT roles, companies will just be clever about how contracts are worded now. As long as you can still prove you wouldn't basically be an employee if you weren't operating through a limited company, you'll still be outside IR35. I know quite a few people in public sector contract roles (where these new reforms already apply) that are outside of IR35 because they either supply their own equipment in terms of laptops or software, or they are basically remote workers first who can come in to the office "if required".

My current contract would see me fall outside IR35 even in 2020 I think due to it explicitly stating I don't have to do any kind of company training or inductions, remote working and can work between projects where I see fit as opposed to being told what to work on.

No doubt contracting will change, but I think a lot of the IT jobs will just have cleverly worded contracts. I'm not too worried yet, and I still think this will either get changed or dismissed completely by the time it's due to be enforced. It got voted out last time, although not strictly the same, and there's a lot of uproar about it at the moment so who knows.

 

[Maccy]

Public sector contractor here, and I'm not worried.

 

[BUDFORCE]

All this hate for IR35, I think it's a great thing.

Apologies in here to anyone that didn't/ doesn't, but from what I've seen the vast majority of contractors putting their income through ltd companies are tax dodging.

They are also some of the higher income earners.

That is why the government introduced it.

 

[krooton]

Calculator doesn't calculate

I put in my earnings (not higher tax rate but over £30K) and £0 for everythign else (Booze, petrol etc) and its showing -£10.83 on TAX (and a -£2 NI). Surely that doesn't make sense as if the tax rate is staying at 20% but the threshold is going up, I should be ~£130 a year better off given the same salary?

I've probaly missed something, what is it.

It's per month

 

[SPG]

Tax break at the top line.... Stealth tax`s on the bottom line.

Its about time we had a goverment with some balls that just turns up and says look we can spend untold hrs working out ideas for tax on everything we can think or we can actually save money and a not have a department of civil servants and just say income tax is going by X.X% this year and be done with it. At least you know where you stand, goverment of low tax my arse. As for the 50k break just a kick in the teeth for a lot of people (even though i am better off)

This goverment is shocking, quite possibly the worst goverment of the past 50/60 years.