More IR35 Lawsuits – does HMRC even understand their own rules?

You might remember our recent blog talking about Lorraine Kelly’s battles with HMRC around IR35 and how being a presenter affects that. Well, “fool me once” evidently doesn’t apply to HMRC, as they recently lost another case involving TV presenters – this time Kaye Adams.

The details of the case aren’t exactly the same – this time the argument was more about what constituted employment, which more directly concerns IR35. However, this is yet another example of HMRC failing to interpret their own rules correctly, and an embarrassing loss of face for the organisation. With HMRC pursuing more than 80 other similar cases just at the BBC alone, it’s entirely possible that they will end up with a humiliating series of defeats.

How does HMRC keep getting its own rules so wrong? IR35 is complicated legislation, true, but if those whose job it is to enforce it don’t know how to do it, what chance does your average independent contractor? Here at AIMS, we’re dedicated to making tax simple, but sometimes HMRC seems equally dedicated to stopping us!

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