Government response to Loan Charge scandal ‘disappointing’, says IPSE

The IPSE is urging the government to ensure all refund requests from contractors affected by the Loan Charge are processed as quickly as possible.

The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) believes that the government’s ‘sluggish’ refunds for only a small proportion of contractors is ‘doubly disappointing’.

Andy Chamberlain, Director of Policy at IPSE, explained further, “After the damaging and unjust mess of the Loan Charge scandal, affected contractors should not have to be applying for a refund at all: they should have been automatically repaid. It is therefore doubly disappointing that the government has been so sluggish to refund just a small proportion of those affected.”

Chamberlain added, “Since the government ultimately accepted the recommendations of the Sir Amyas Morse Review in 2019, it should work to ensure all refund applications from contractors who were negatively affected by the Loan Charge scandal are processed as quickly as possible.

“IPSE are still deeply troubled by the approach government took to the Loan Charge: instead of targeting the individuals who entered into these schemes – in many cases unwittingly – it should have gone after the true villains, the promoters and providers of disguised remuneration schemes.

“Government should also look to the future: the changes to IR35 have pushed huge swathes of the contractor population into the unregulated umbrella market where disguised remuneration schemes are still being promoted. Government must clear up the mess after IR35 and ensure more contractors do not end up entangled in these schemes.”

To find out more about contracting please contact Jaime on 01442 795 100 or email jaime.thorpe@dolanaccountancy.com.