PCG says accountants on expenses for senior Ministers highlights morally indefensible system

PCG, the representative voice of the UK freelance community, has expressed its exasperation after nine members of the Cabinet put the cost of professional help with their personal tax affairs on their parliamentary office allowances.

PCG believes that the present tax and regulatory framework for small businesses is much too complicated. The current regulatory framework in place alone costs the UK the equivalent of 10-12% of GDP annually.

PCG has consistently voiced its concerns at the disproportionate burden imposed on freelancers who have been faced with a bewilderingly complex tax return as a result of confusing and ambiguous legislation such as IR35. Many freelancers have to pay for professional help to complete their self-assessment returns yet HMRC insist on treating these fees as private and thus not tax-deductible.

PCG Managing Director, John Brazier commented: "A normal taxpayer completing the self-assessment form has to be not just accurate, but able to prove with hard evidence that they are paying the right amount of tax. Failure to do so can have very serious consequences. For the freelance contractor there is a significant cost in making sure the self assessment return complies with the raft of tax legislation which constrains small businesses and subjects the employment status of the individual freelancer to obscure and ambiguous rulings."

Added Mr Brazier: "This is frankly galling. Tax rules prevent most people from claiming the cost of employing an accountant to handle their self assessment return. There seems to be one rule for cabinet ministers but another for the rest of us. This is morally indefensible!"

Mr Brazier concluded "This revelation has further exposed the need for a thorough overhaul of the current system. The burden imposed on small businesses by an enormously complicated tax regime acts as a lead weight on economic growth. I hope we will see a re-appraisal soon."

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