Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect on revenue to the public purse of corporations hiring workers as self-employed to circumvent their employer’s national insurance contributions and workers’ rights liabilities as a result of changes to IR35 regulations.

The Government is committed to robustly tackling false self-employment. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will investigate any evidence suggesting companies may have misclassified individuals for tax purposes. In these cases, HMRC will identify the facts and take steps to ensure the right tax and National Insurance contributions are paid.

Where the off-payroll working rules (IR35) apply, employer’s National Insurance contributions are payable. In April 2017, the Government introduced reform to IR35 for the public sector meaning responsibility shifted for determining whether the rules apply, from the individual’s own company to the public sector body engaging them. Early tax receipts are broadly in line with what was expected from the reform and the forecast of what the measure would raise.