The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed lauded a report by the UK government’s Public Accounts Committee that criticized IR35 and off-payroll working rules, according to an announcement by IPSE on 28 February.

“The [Public Accounts Committee] is absolutely right to highlight the chilling effect of IR35 on legitimate economic activity,” IPSE Director of Policy Andy Chamberlain said in a press release. “HMRC has hounded individuals through the courts for years, often only to be proved wrong. This is making clients extremely reluctant to engage the freelance talent they need to deliver projects.”

Chamberlain continued, “If we really want to see a return to growth and engender a culture of economic confidence, we must harness the benefits of our flexible labour market, rather than stifling it with the unworkable off-payroll rules.”

The Public Accounts Committee’s report said it “is concerned that HMRC’s approach to tackling IR35 is deterring legitimate economic activity, and that a lack of confidence in how to apply the rules, together with HMRC’s tough approach when taxpayers make mistakes, is unnecessarily putting companies off using contractors.”