IR35 evidence given to House of Lords likened to ‘fiction’

Author: Cogent Admin

IR35 evidence given to House of Lords likened to ‘fiction’

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The ongoing probe into IR35 by the House of Lords has uncovered some interesting information and responses from contractors and those who use their services, as well as from HMRC.

A former tax official  was recently quoted as saying: “Absolutely everyone else has a different experience to HMRC. But based on their past report, I have every confidence that the committee will soon sort the reality from this fiction.”

She isn’t alone in condemning HMRC’s findings and comparing it to the very different experience faced by contractors. In fact, Qdos CEO Seb Maley said that “HMRC’s submission doesn’t tell the full story of IR35 reform” pointing out that “the Government paints a picture that suits it’s own narrative”.

These comments are not surprising given that HMRC said that most contractors and engagers had found operating the new IR35 rules “easy”.

This was at complete odds from the written evidence submitted by industry organisations, such as IPSE, FCSA and the LITRG.

However, HMRC went further saying that most businesses had found the rules “reasonable to apply.”

Many experts have, however, pointed out that the £135 million of fines issued against other Government agencies and departments for failing to comply with IR35 suggested otherwise.

Elsewhere in it’s submission, the tax authority said when it was made aware of contractors “changing the way they work” due to IR35, it became “pro-active” to “raise awareness…among contractors.”

However, the industry has pointed out several examples of HMRC publishing factsheets and guidance late, not adding it to the GOV.UK website or not sending it out to those who must abide by the new rules.

HMRC seems to be painting a vastly different picture to peers than the realities faced by many contractors and, unsurprisingly, it has some experts concerned.

In fact, the 14 page submission shows HMRC not fully answering the Lords’ questions on five separate occasions, each time claiming it is “too early” to say what the impact is.

One area that the peers were particularly interested in was the cost of administering the scheme. It is clear that many PSCs and medium or large commercial organisations have found administering the rules more onerous and costly.

However, it seems HMRC itself has struggled with the administrative burden and revised the initial cost of managing the scheme from £14.4 million to £19.7 million.

It is clear then that the impact of IR35 has been far greater than HMRC had predicted and more wide reaching.

Hopefully, the House of Lords report should be issued later this year, and given the evidence presented to it by contractors and organisations, should make further recommendations to improve the complex and costly IR35 rules.

IR35 reforms force 90 per cent of firms to increase contractor rates

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A new report has found that almost nine in 10 UK businesses have been forced to increase their rates for contractors to attract the right talent.

Much of the UK is experiencing a labour shortage at the moment, driven by a number of distinct factors, and the world of freelancing and contractors seems to be no different.

However, the main impact forcing the rates of contractors higher appears to be IR35 reform in the private sector.

According to the new study, of those firms that had increased their rates for contractors, 75 per cent were required to raise the amount paid by more than 10 per cent.

The research also showed that 77 per cent of end clients now find engaging contractors difficult, with half describing the process as “challenging”.

Despite rising rates, 90 per cent of the companies questioned intend to extend their use of contractors during the next year and a half to fill gaps in their workforce or to support further growth.

Surprisingly only 31 per cent of businesses had increased rates due to fears of non-compliance. Instead, contractor costs (53 per cent), talent attraction (42 per cent) and project delays (42 per cent) were seen as the bigger risks of using a “bad IR35 solution”.

The report stated: “For businesses that rely on the contractor workforce to deliver projects on time and to budget, access to a talented flexible workforce is vital to growth.

“With job vacancies reaching an all-time high, presenting an attractive, compliant and competitive IR35 offer to talent is the best way to regain some control in an uncertain environment.”

And finally – Strangest requests from guests in 2021 revealed by Travelodge

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Hotel company Travelodge has revealed the strangest requests it has received from its guest in the last 12 months – and some of them are really out there.

According to the popular accommodation provider, one resident staying Derbyshire asked what time they can see the snake on the Snake Pass – a popular local tourist destination.

In another example, one guest in York kindly asked a member of staff to sing in the next room to check he had a quiet room.

Making special requests at a hotel is common Travelodge said, but the last 12 months had been particularly odd.

With growing demand for staycations, the company had experienced a surge in bookings across it’s 582 hotels across the UK following the lifting of all COVID-19restrictions.

Some other examples of odd requests included one guest in St Austell asking for a room with a south-facing window because he required sunlight to charge his aura first thing in the morning, while staff at Newcastle Quayside Travelodge were left shocked after a customer asked for a children’s paddling pool so their pet fish could have a spacious bed for the night.

A spokesperson for Travelodge said: “With more Britons holidaying on British shores than ever before, our hotel teams have also received a high volume of interesting requests and questions, especially around place names, local dishes, customs and traditions across the British regions.

“Where possible, our hotel teams will go above and beyond to help customers as they relish a good challenge.

“However, there are some requests beyond their control, such as arranging afternoon tea with the pandas, getting a shooting star to appear at 10pm, getting a part on Emmerdale, and getting seagulls to sing instead of squawk.”

Cogent Puzzle

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Answer from November newswire.

Q. What is the next number in the sequence?

2, 6, 12, 20, 30, 42, ?

A: 56

Explanation:

The differences between consecutive numbers are:
6 – 2 = 4, 12 – 6 = 6, 20 – 12 = 8, 30 – 20 = 10, 42 – 30 = 12.

The differences increase by 2 each time: 4, 6, 8, 10, 12.
The next difference will be 14.

Adding 14 to the last number (42): 42 + 14 = 56.

Answer from October newswire.

Q. What is the next number in the sequence?

1011, 0111, 1110, ?

A: 1101

Explanation:

The numbers are shifting along one figure at a time.

Answer from September newswire.

Q. What are the next two numbers in the sequence?

1, 5, 10, 50, 100,?,?

A: 500, 1,000

Explanation:

Numbers that have an equivalent whole Roman numeral.

Answer from July newswire.

Q. What is the next number in the sequence?

3, 8, 15, 24, …

A: 35

Explanation:

Each number is increased by the next consecutive odd number:

(3 + 5 = 8), (8 + 7 = 15), (15 + 9 = 24) …

So, the next number is (24 + 11 = 35).

Answer from June newswire.

Q. What is the next number in the sequence?

4, 7, 15, 29, 59, 117,?

A: 235 – Each new number in the sequence is double the previous one and or minus one in an alternating pattern (i.e. ×2-1, ×2+1, ×2-1, etc)

Answer from May newswire.

Q. What is the next number in the sequence?

3, 4, 7, 11, 18, 29,?

A: 47 – The sequence follows a progression where each number is added to the previous one to create the next number (i.e. 1+3=4, 3+4=7, etc)

Answer from April newswire.

Q. What is the next number in the sequence?

3, 9, 27, 81, …

A: 243 – The sequence follows a progression where each term is multiplied by 3 to get the next figure.

Answer from March newswire.

Q. What is the next number in the sequence?

7, 5, 8, 4, 9, 3, ?

A: 10 (two series – every second number: 7, 8, 9, 10 and 5, 4, 3, 2)

Answer from February newswire.

Q. What comes next in this sequence?

1, 4, 9, 16, 25, __?

A: 36

This follows a squared number sequence i.e. 1 squared is 1, two squared is 4, three squared is 9, etc.

Answer from January newswire.

Q. Identify a number whose letters are arranged in alphabetical sequence.

A: Forty

It is unique as it’s the only English number with its letters arranged in alphabetical order.

Answer from November newswire.

Q. What comes next?

7612, 2761, 1276….

A: 6127

The numerals shift over one each time.

Answer from October newswire.

Q. What comes next?

2, 5, 26, 677, ?

A: 458330

2 X 2 + 1 = 5
5 X 5 + 1 = 26
26 X26 + 1 = 677
677 X 677 + 1 = 458330

Answer from September newswire.

Q. What comes next?

4, 7, 15, 29, 59, 117, ?

A: 235

The numbers are in ascending order by multiplying by 2 and then either adding or subtracting (×2-1, ×2+1, ×2-1, …).

Answer from July newswire.

Q. What comes next?

5, 15, 5, 18, 5, 24, 14, 20, ?

A: 5

The numbers are in ascending order written as words onE twO threE fouR and so on.

Replace the last letter in each word with position of letter in the alphabet (E=5, O=15, E=5, R=18 and so on).

Answer from June newswire.

Q. What is the next number in the sequence?

2, 5, 26, 677, ?

A: 458330

The sequence follows a pattern of multiplying the next number by itself, then adding 1.

Answer from April newswire.

Q. What letter is next in sequence?

Q, Z, J, X, K

A: The letter F.

These letters are sorted by Scrabble tile values and Alphabetical order.

Q-10, Z-10, J-8, X-8, K-5, F-4 …

Answer from March newswire.

Q. What is next number in this sequence?

0, 4, 2, 6, 4, 8, ?

A: 6

The sequence follows a pattern of +4, -2 repeated.

Answer from February newswire.

Q. What is the missing number?

6, 6, 7, ?, 8, 6, 8

A: 9

The number of letters for the days of the week is given starting from Sunday, this means the missing number is 9 (for the 9 letters in Wednesday).

Answer from January newswire.

Q. Which of the following words is next in this sequence – part, eagle, limb, evil, very, ?

  • Booze
  • Lair
  • Root

A: Lair

You can put successive letters of the alphabet in front of each of the words to make a new word i.e. apart, beagle, climb, etc.

Answer from November newswire.

Q. What comes next?

0, 3, 1, -2, -6, -3, -1, -4, -12, -9, -3, -6, -18, ….

A: The pattern has to do with 3. It’s plus 3 divided by 3, minus 3 and multiplied by 3, and so on.

Answer from October newswire.

Q. Find the next letter in the series?

B C E G ?

A: The answer is K.

As you move through the series, the alpha-numerical value of the letters follows the sequence of Prime Numbers.

Answer from September newswire.

Q. Can you find the missing letter in this sequence?

S – T – I – L – ? – T – F – Y – C

A: The answer is M.

These are the first letter of each word in the question asked in reverse order.

Answer from July newswire.

Q. Complete the number sequence:

3, 5, 8, 13, 22

A: 39

As you work across double each number and subtract 1, then 2, then 3 etc.

Answer from June newswire.

Q. The day before yesterday a person was 25 and the next year, they will be 28. This is true only one day in a year. What is their birthday?

A: They were born on 31 December and spoke about it on 1 January.

Answer from May newswire.

Q. What is unique about 8549176320?

A: It is the digits 0 to 9 in alphabetical order.

Answer from March newswire.

Q. Complete the next two numbers in this series:

101, 112, 131, 415, 161, 718, ???, ???

A: 192 021

If you look at it as two-digit numbers, you’ll see the sequence goes 10 11 12 13 14 etc.

Answer from February newswire.

Q. Complete the number sequence: 

1, 2, 6, 21, 88, ?

A: 445 

 2 = (1+1)1, 6 = (2+1) 2, 21 = (6+1) 3, 88 = (21+1) 4

 

 So, 445 = (88+1) 5

Answer from January newswire.

Q. 13, 25, 51, 101, 203, ?

A: 405

13+12 = 25

25+26 = 51

51 + 50 = 101

101 + 102 = 203

203 + 202 = 405

Answer from November newswire.

Q. Complete the number sequence:

5, 7, 12, 19, 31, 50, ?

A:

81 (a+b=c, b+c=d, c+d=e)

Answer from October newswire.

Q. Can you make four nines equal 100?

A:

99+9/9 = 100

Answer from September newswire.

Q. Find the next two numbers in this series?

101, 112, 131, 415, 161, 718, ?

A:

192 021 – If you look at it as two-digit numbers you’ll see:10 11 12 13 etc

Answer from July newswire.

Q. Use the following number to add up exactly to 100:

13, 57, 8, 39, 48, 24, 47

A:

13, 39, and 48.

Answer from June newswire.

Q. Using only addition, add eight 8s to get the number 1,000

A:

888 + 88 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 1,000

Answer from May newswire.

Q. What number comes next in this sequence?

1 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 9 , 11, ?

A:

100 (it is the next number that doesn’t contain a ‘T’ in the spelling)

Answer from April newswire.

Q. 1, 4, 9, 18, 35, ?

A:

68 (x2+2, ×2+1, ×2+0, ×2-1, ×2-2, …)

Answer from March newswire.

Q. If 1 1 1 1 = R
2 2 2 2 = T
3 3 3 3 = E
4 4 4 4 = N

Then 5 5 5 5 =?

A:

1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 4 = FOUR

2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 8 = EIGHT

3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 12 = TWELVE

4 + 4 + 4 + 4 = 16 = SIXTEEN

So, following the same pattern.

5 + 5 + 5 + 5 = 20 = TWENTY

That gives us our answer to 5 5 5 5 = Y

Answer from February newswire.

Q. What is unique about 8549176320?

A: It is the digits 0 to 9 in alphabetical order i.e. eight, five, four, nine etc

Answer from January newswire.

Q. 1, 2, 6, 21, 88,?

A. 445

2 = (1+1) x 1
6 = (2+1) x 2
21= (6+1) x 3
88 = (21+1) x 4
So, 445 = (88+1) x 5

Answer from November newswire.

Q: If 123=0, 4235=0, 656=2, 5390=2, 8890=6, 1001=2 & 19235=1.

What is 123456789?

A: 4

You need to count the number of closed circles in each example.

Answer from October newswire.

Q: Which number is the odd one out?

9678, 4572, 5261, 5133, 3527, 6895, 7768,

A: 3527

In the others, the sum of the first two numbers is equal to the sum of the second two numbers, for example, 5 + 2 = 6 + 1.

Answer from September newswire.

Q: What comes next in the sequence:

1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11?

A: 100

It is the next number that doesn’t contain the letter ‘T’ in the spelling.

Answer from July newswire.

Q: What comes next in the sequence:

3, 9, 17, 27, ?

A: 39

Moving from left to right, add 6 to the first number to get the next one along, then 8, 10 and 12 to complete the sequence.

Answer from June newswire.

Q: What comes next in the sequence:

3, 5, 8, 13, 22, ?

A: 39

Working along the sequence double each number and subtract 1, then 2, then 3 etc.

Answer from May newswire.

Q: Which number is the odd one out?

84129, 32418, 47632, 36119, 67626, 72927

A: 47632

(All the others are three-digit numbers followed by their square root, e.g. 361 followed by its square root, 19.)

Answer from April newswire.

Q: Complete the number sequence:

0, 4, 2, 6, 4, 8, ?

A: 6 – alternate by adding 4 and taking away 2 to each preceding number (x+4, -2, +4, -2, +4, -2)

Answer from March newswire.

Q: 1, 2, 6, 24, 120, ?

A: 720

Multiply the preceding number by an increasing scale (x2,x3,x4,x5,x6)

Answer from February newswire.

Q: 3, 8, 15, 24, 35, ?

A: 48

Add ascending odd numbers each time i.e. +5, +7, +9, +11, +13….

Answer from January newswire.

Q: What Come next in sequence

1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11?

A: 100 (The next number that doesn’t contain a ‘T’ in the spelling).

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