Companies are being urged to get a better handle on their supply chain following guidance issued by HMRC on mini-umbrella company fraud, however market participants have criticised the body’s approach.
“HMRC is pushing out the moral imperative saying big companies have a moral obligation to make sure that everything that sits below is fair and transparent,” says Matthew Sharp, tax disputes director at Fieldfisher.
“It’s very interesting the way that HMRC’s press team have positioned this as a problem with umbrella companies,” he says. “There are a lot of very reputable umbrella companies out there, who are doing exactly what they mean to be doing. The problem isn’t with umbrella companies, it’s with the rogue operators who are abusing things like employment allowance for national insurance purposes.”