Anti-IR35 lobby gets skills boost
The Professional Contractors Group, which has campaigned unsuccessfully for the abolition of the IR35 tax measure, has succeeded in boosting the prospects of UK-based IT contractors in another way.
The PCG claims to have recently succeeded in getting the Home Office to remove two programming skills – C/C++ and Javascript – removed from the ‘shortage occupation list’ for fast track work visas.
In a statement, the anti-IR35 campaigner said it had demonstrated to the government’s skills sector panel, of which it is a member, that both these skills should not be on the skills shortage list.
A spokesperson for the Home Office confirmed that both skills had been removed from the list on 1 May.
Philip Ross, PCG policy advisor, said he was pleased the skills shortage occupation list has been updated and said it was something the PCG had been campaigning for in the last year.
The PCG’s numerous bids to have the IR35 legislation scrapped have failed, the most recent being its defeat in the Court of Appeal.