Editor's Comment

09-December-2009 | By DeeDee Doke

Oh, to have been a fly on the wall at the Gangmasters Licensing Authority when plans were being made to clamp down on alleged abusers of tax-free allowances for workers as a way to undercut rivals and save a little money. Given HMRC’s apparent approach of closing eyes and hoping it will all go away, aside from one statement on the subject in late summer, the GLA’s initiative raises questions of whether it is serving as the tax authority’s hatchet man to enforce the rules, or actually leading a charge to drive the allowances out of existence, dispensation or not. The allowances are not without controversy, but very few are willing to give the issue the public airing the subject deserves. With the exception of one very candid umbrella company owner, uniformly, even operators using schemes that have the HMRC seal of approval have refused to discuss the matter in an open forum with Recruiter. We await the GLA’s enforcement actions with great interest.

On a completely separate note, thank you for your readership and support in 2009. We wish you a wonderful 2010, and look forward to bringing you relevant and meaningful news and features throughout the year.