Fresh hope for IR35 victims
The Inland Revenue has lost an IR35 case following a PAYE compliance investigation it launched against a contractor in 2002.
Link: Breaking News: Bitter blow for contractors
The Professional Contractors Group claim that the case – which was fought by legal consultancy firm Lawspeed – was based on virtually the same terms that ex-policeman, Gordon Stutchbury of software consultancy Synaptek Ltd, lost to the Revenue at the High Court in March.
The contractor that Lawspeed represented worked through the same agency, under the same contract terms and supplied services to a similar government department as Stutchbury.
The decision that this new case fell outside IR35 was made by a senior status officer, although he did not provide extended reasons why he reached his decision.
It throws new doubt over the reach of IR35 and provides renewed hope to contractors that IR35 decisions can be successfully fought.