Recruiter accused of promoting NI tax avoidance shceme
Recruitment support services provider accused of promoting National Insurance avoidance scheme
ONE of the recruitment industry’s most significant businesses is promoting an “abusive” scheme designed to eradicate National Insurance, it has been revealed.
The scheme works by exploiting the government’s employment allowance, and could deprive the Treasury of tens of millions of pounds of National Insurance payments, the BBC reports.
Anderson Group said that all of its services are fully compliant with UK tax laws.
It said it is “totally incorrect” to say that Anderson Group is promoting the scheme and says it is a product being offered by one of its clients.
The relief allows companies to claim £2,000 off their annual employers’ NI contributions and was meant to encourage small businesses to take on more workers.
However, under the scheme promoted by Anderson Group, a business would set up limited companies with a couple of workers in each, allowing each company could then claim the £2,000 relief.
Anderson Group calls itself the UK’s “leading provider of support services to the recruitment industry” has hundreds of agencies and thousands of contractors on its books.
One of the group’s salesmen told the BBC that 10,000 workers were now being employed through these companies, and the goal was to increase that to 20,000.
If National Insurance was avoided on every one of those workers, HMRC could lose £20m.