Planned tax rules could undermine building industry, say accountants

In response to the Treasury consultation: False Self-employment in Construction,The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland says that onerous new tax rules on construction workers and those who engage them could seriously undermine an industry that has been amongst the hardest hit by the recession.

"We are astonished that these proposals have come forward during a recession, since we believe the net result of adopting them would be an increase in unemployment.This is clearly undesirable, and we recommend that the proposals be abandoned. The proposals are flawed, can easily be circumvented and are unlikely to work properly."states Derek Allen, ICAS Director of Taxation.