Budget 2020 and the government’s support package: What it means for UK tech
March 1st, 2020
Rishi Sunak’s first Budget was remarkable for several reasons. The first was its sheer scale, including an estimated £30bn of coronavirus-related stimulus. The second was the speed at which the package was overtaken by events.
Less than a week after the Budget was delivered, the government announced a £350bn package of grants and loan guarantees designed to help see businesses through the crisis. Next came a scheme for the government to pay the wages of furloughed employees, followed by similar arrangements for the self-employed: spending commitments that are expected to top £75bn.
But alongside the headline announcements and the unprecedented support package that followed it, the Budget (and subsequent announcements) also contained a number of provisions directly relevant to the UK’s tech sector. Here’s a roundup of what you may have missed…
IR35 changes pushed back by one year
With independent contractors forming such a significant part of the UK’s tech sector workforce, the proposed changes to the off-payroll working legislation (IR35) has been a cause of considerable concern.
IR35 is meant to address the perceived problem of ‘disguised employment’, whereby workers operate notionally as independent contractors and bill for their services via an intermediary (usually a limited company), resulting in a lower tax and NI liability. However, Many tech firms routinely use contract labour to help de-risk their business models as a flexible way to plug temporary skills gaps.
Originally, changes to IR35 impacting large and medium-sized private sector organisations were due to come into force on 6 April 2020. These changes shift the responsibility for determining a worker’s employment status from the contractor to the hirer. It’s a big burden for many firms – and reports suggested that many employers and contractors were simply not prepared for it.
Welcome news came shortly after the Budget, when it was announced that these IR35 changes have been pushed back until April 2021. Be warned though: the Business Secretary, Steve Barclay made it clear that this decision was “a deferral, not a cancellation, and the government remains committed to reintroducing this policy”.
Rishi Sunak’s first Budget was remarkable for several reasons. The first was its sheer scale, including an estimated £30bn of coronavirus-related stimulus. The second was the speed at which the package was overtaken by events.
Less than a week after the Budget was delivered, the government announced a £350bn package of grants and loan guarantees designed to help see businesses through the crisis. Next came a scheme for the government to pay the wages of furloughed employees, followed by similar arrangements for the self-employed: spending commitments that are expected to top £75bn.
But alongside the headline announcements and the unprecedented support package that followed it, the Budget (and subsequent announcements) also contained a number of provisions directly relevant to the UK’s tech sector. Here’s a roundup of what you may have missed…
IR35 changes pushed back by one year
With independent contractors forming such a significant part of the UK’s tech sector workforce, the proposed changes to the off-payroll working legislation (IR35) has been a cause of considerable concern.
IR35 is meant to address the perceived problem of ‘disguised employment’, whereby workers operate notionally as independent contractors and bill for their services via an intermediary (usually a limited company), resulting in a lower tax and NI liability. However, Many tech firms routinely use contract labour to help de-risk their business models as a flexible way to plug temporary skills gaps.
Originally, changes to IR35 impacting large and medium-sized private sector organisations were due to come into force on 6 April 2020. These changes shift the responsibility for determining a worker’s employment status from the contractor to the hirer. It’s a big burden for many firms – and reports suggested that many employers and contractors were simply not prepared for it.
Welcome news came shortly after the Budget, when it was announced that these IR35 changes have been pushed back until April 2021. Be warned though: the Business Secretary, Steve Barclay made it clear that this decision was “a deferral, not a cancellation, and the government remains committed to reintroducing this policy”.