Liberal Democrats to Abolish Loan Charge and Review IR35 Reforms

Lib Dems to Abolish Loan Charge

The Liberal Democrats have announced in their Manifesto that they will abolish loan charge attacks on contractors. Not only that they will review the looming IR35 reforms coming to the private sector in April 2020.

A number of major UK banks and financial services companies have already announced a blanket ban on hiring contractors who operate via their personal service companies.

At last there is a political party who are listening to the self employed and representing them.

Contractor Questions on Lib Dems Plan to Abolish Loan Charge

1. What Contractor Friendly Proposals do the Lib Dems Have in their Manifesto?
2. Who is the most contractor friendly UK political party?
3. Is Loan Charge Abolition Guaranteed in Lib Dem Manifesto?
4. Will These Pro-Contractor Lib Dem policies put pressure on the other parties?
5. Who Has Been Selling These Contractor Ideas to the Lib Dems?
6. What Consequences will the IR35 changes have on UK contractors?

What Contractor Friendly Proposals do the Lib Dems Have in their Manifesto

Here are the contractor friendly changes that the Lib Dems have included in their Manifesto:-

1. Review the IR35 changes
2. Abolish Loan Charge
3. Don’t have any more retrospective taxes like the Loan Charge
4. Simplify business taxation to lower admin costs
5. Extend Parental Leave and Pay to freelancers
6. Make Government organizations and major companies pay freelancers on time by getting them to sign up to the Prompt Payment Code
7. Reform Universal Credit so that it works for freelancers

Who is the most contractor friendly UK political party

This is a major boost for freelancers It has been a long time coming. Labour have traditionally been the party who represents the workers The Conservatives supported big business

There was not a party who represented the 5.5m self employed in this country. Now it looks like the Liberal Democrats aspire to be that party.

One must be cautious though.

In 2010 the Conservatives promised IPSE and others verbally that they would abolish IR35. However, in their Manifesto they just said that they would “Look at IR35” again. They were as good as their promise and looked at IR35 again. They decided not only to keep it but they vowed to STRENGTHEN IR35 They’ve been doing that ever since. That was a straight lie to contractors even before the Boris days.

Is Loan Charge Abolition Guaranteed in Lib Dem Manifesto

However, having said that, the news on the Loan Charge Abolition is in the Liberal Democrats Manifesto. The Lib Dems are not going to look at the Loan charge. They are not going to review the Loan Charge They are going to abolish loan charge.

They are only going to review the IR35 changes. IPSE should try and get them to say something stronger as regards IR35. There are not only 5.5m self employed out there but there are partners, children and friends of the self employed. This could be a game changer in the coming election if enough news of this gets out there to freelancers.

Scrapping the loan charge is good news for the contractors affected. Several freelancers have committed suicide after being hit for massive tax bills from HMRC. This was retrospective legislation. A lot of very worried contractors would sleep much more easily in their beds if the Lib Dems were able to implement this in a coalition government.

Getting parental leave and pay for contractors would be ground breaking.

Will These Pro-Contractor Lib Dem policies put pressure on the other parties

These Lib Dem Manifesto promises will put pressure on the Conservatives and Labour to respond. It is too late for Labour to respond as their Manifesto comes out today and will have been set in stone before the Liberal Democrat announcement on measures to help freelancers.

But will the Conservatives, the likely election winners, have the time, and the inclination, to respond in kind?

They will have the time but probably not the inclination going form past experience.

However, it is fantastic that we now have a political party (other than he SNP in Scotland) who do not want to bash freelancers In fact from their Manifesto the Lib Dems appear to be open to listening to contractors There’s a novelty.

Who Has Been Selling These Contractor Ideas to the Lib Dems

We have criticised IPSE in the past but they have done a great job this time. They now need to get the news out to as many contractors as possible. I don’t think the other parties know how angry freelancers are over the Loan Charge and IR35. Could freelancers have a significant voice in this election? Only if they get to hear about it.

As usual,there is very little in the mainstream media on this so far. That’s par for the course on matters pertaining to the 5.5m self employed and their families.

Said Andy Chamberlain, Deputy Director of Policy at freelancers group IPSE, “We are delighted that the Liberal Democrats have taken up so many of our policies to support the self-employed. In recent weeks, we have met with several senior Liberal Democrats, so it is excellent to see that our points have cut through.     

What Consequences will the IR35 changes have on UK contractors

“The changes to IR35 will have disastrous consequences for the UK’s 5 million self-employed next April. Reviewing them is a definite step in the right direction. It would give IPSE the chance to make it clear just how harmful the changes to IR35 would be and put paid to them once and for all.

“By adopting our policies to clamp down on late payment, reform Universal Credit, scrap the loan charge and ensure fair pay for freelance parents, the Liberal Democrats have committed to truly support the self-employed. They have laid down a gauntlet for the other main parties, who must now step up to back Britain’s freelancers.”    

All freelancers need to get this word out there – as the mainstream media won’t. The other parties’ contractor policies are below

See Conservative Party Policy for Contractors – A Total Tory Wipeout

See Labour to Abolish Contracting Profession

See SNP IR35 Policy – Government Must Delay to Address Contractor Concerns

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