When will it end

grizzly1911

An offshore company employing thousands of teachers is avoiding the payment of millions of pounds in employer's National Insurance contributions.
ISS Ltd, based in the Channel Islands, employs more than 24,000 temporary agency workers across the UK, most of them working as supply teachers.
ISS says it is "meticulous in complying with HMRC codes on taxes and expenses".
HM Revenue & Customs says schools, councils or employment agencies could be liable for the shortfall.

The UK can't afford this tax loss and it can't afford so many households being put at tax risk. This is a scandal waiting to break”

This could add up to many millions of pounds in unpaid tax. For example, for a supply teacher on a daily rate of £160, around £90 per week is not being paid to HMRC in employer's National Insurance contributions.
HMRC says that the UK-based employment agency through which the workers are supplied, or alternatively the end-user company, such as the school or local education authority, could be treated as the employer and therefore be liable for the unpaid National Insurance contributions.
'Effective enforcement' This raises the prospect of HMRC having to pursue other public sector bodies and employees for the lost revenue.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20157878

A bit of non story really as the argument will be that the agency would just charge more, potentially, as an hourly rate to recover the additional cost -unless this made them uncompetitive against mainland companies.

Why do we have the pantomime of HMRC chasing another government body to recover to "balance the books" with all the inherent costs?

Why are the state schools allowed to use offshore agencies, who are no doubt trying to avoid the full UK tax on the resultant profit from the activity?

Loughton_Monkey

grizzly1911 wrote: »

....Why are the state schools allowed to use offshore agencies, who are no doubt trying to avoid the full UK tax on the resultant profit from the activity?

Do you honestly think that state schools [i.e. these idiots who paid £3,700 for photocopiers etc.] know or understand anything about the supply teachers they get, and their tax arrangements? Less a question of 'are they allowed?', more one of 'have they got a clue what they're doing?'.

grizzly1911

Loughton_Monkey wrote: »

Do you honestly think that state schools [i.e. these idiots who paid £3,700 for photocopiers etc.] know or understand anything about the supply teachers they get, and their tax arrangements? Less a question of 'are they allowed?', more one of 'have they got a clue what they're doing?'.

Hence they should not be allowed to exercise discretion if they can't.

johnny_storm

I dont pay any NI either. Who would who could avoid it?

The levels of taxation in the country are frankly ridiculous, and for what? To throw away on the EU, state non jobs and benefits for those that dont contribute.

Count me out.

moneyinmypocket

Sounds about right gin and tonics all round

System

Any day now it will be revealed that HMRC staff are paid through offshore agencies, and then they will have to start chasing themselves for unpaid tax and NI.

Generali

Make the tax code simpler and the problem goes away. The problem with using the tax code to encourage certain behaviors is that your
loophole that you carefully created for one thing is mercilessly exploited by tax accountants everywhere.

wymondham

If it is not illegal, then there is absolutely no problem with it?