The changing Umbrella Market - Changes at Norla Consulting
Since the launch of the MSC regulations in the Pre Budget report of December 2006 HMRC has publically stated its stance on:-
The ICAEW also published some comments inDecember 2008 about who could fall foul of the MSC regulations, and theProfessional Contractors and Freelancers that would be "hit" first whenusing one of the available "Offshore Solutions"; for anyoneconsidering using one of these schemes these comments are worth a read.
It is worth remembering that HMRC are very well informed about theservices on offer to Professional Contractors and Freelancers and havetwo specialist teams called SCU's , Service Company Units basedin Taunton and Sheffield. These two teams deal with Umbrella Companies,MSC's, IR35 and Agency Legislation and their role is fully described inECH13315
HMRC has not publicised any "attacks" either successful orunsuccessful against any opperators but there has certainly been some changes in the way various operators in the market for supplyingservices to Professional Contractors and Freelancers have publiscisedtheir services.
These changes may, or may not be the result of HMRC interest in thecompany, I would not know, but I think it is useful to "keep an eye onthe market" and see the changes. Whatever the reason it shows that themarket is changing for suppliers of services to the ProfessionalContractor and Freelancer, and my own view is that HMRC are takingstrong and determined action on suppliers who are not compliant.
For true peace of mind, compliance is the key, for sure. There arestill plenty of good, legal and compliant ways to plan your tax withinthe structure of your own Limited Company, and achieve a tax efficientnet income whilst still sleeping at night.
And so to one change that I noticed recently. I wonder what changedat "Norla Consulting" ? If I remember rightly they marketed themselvesas an Umbrella Company, and now their website offersa timesheet and back office service for Staffing Companies and also suggests an Accountancy Service for Limited Company contractors thatis offered by another firm.
For research purposes you may want to do a search on the term "Norla" on the forums at www.contractoruk.com, there seems to be some suggestions on these forums that the firm wasan Umbrella Company with an EBT scheme and that HMRC had startedwriting to contractors using the "scheme" which had caused some concern.
If you are thinking about using any of these types of schemes, orhave colleagues that are telling you all about how good they are, readthese forums, read about peoples personal experiences and then make upyour own mind about your ability to sleep at night.
HMRC offer guidance on EBT's at BIM44535 and it is worth reading. The question to ask yourself is, is it worth the risk ?