The coalition government’s launch of the Office of Tax Simplification has highlighted the need to have a comprehensive review of IR35, according to the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC).

In a letter to the chair of the OTS, The Rt Hon Michael Jack, the REC has supported moves to develop alternative legislative approaches to IR35, a tax regime for workers who are paid by the client through an intermediary.

Jeff Brooks, chair of the REC Technology Group, says: “Over the coming year, the work of the OTS will have huge implications for the contractor marketplace. We will be working constructively with government and with the OTS to feed into the forthcoming reviews and to help streamline the current tax regime for those operating in our market.”

Paul Botting, chair of the Interim Management Association (IMA), adds: “A review of IR35 is long overdue and will help to simplify flexible working options such as interim management. Interim executives and managers are key drivers for both growth and efficiencies and should not be stifled by an overly complex tax system.”