IR35 challenge campaign hits £10.5k target, almost

A crowdfunding campaign to launch a legal challenge against IR35 in the public sector has hit more than 90% of its target.

The Just Giving page of Mike Gibson, the IT contractor who launched the challenge, shows donations of more than £9,500, just slightly shy of the £10,500 sought for stage one.

“I can't thank you all enough for the overwhelming response”, Gibson tells donors online. “Given the progress, we may extend our target to give us some [financial] breathing space”.

Speaking to ContractorUK on the verge of the target being hit, the consultant clarified that he would not alter the sum of the funds sought for stage one, Research & Analysis.

But he conceded he was looking at leaving the funding campaign open, because the R&A work by tax barrister Michael Paulin is “not something which is easy to estimate” the cost of.

Gibson hopes to avoid “moving the goalposts” however, for fear it would send the wrong message to the campaign’s supporters, not all of whom are caught by the April rules.

“We’ve had donations from people outside of the consulting community which reinforces the suggestion that many [people] feel that the [newest] deployment of IR35 is not fair.”

At the time of writing, the biggest donation is £1,000 -- submitted by a couple who are both experienced freelance consultants. The average donation from the almost 250 donors is £41.

“It’s interesting how many younger people have also contributed,” Gibson said. “As soon as we have the money raised, we’ll be passing the brief [listing IR35 complaints] to Mr Paulin.”