'Uppal should take on tax too, not just late payers'

The Small Business Commissioner’s brief to ‘empower the smallest businesses’ like contractors should see him intervene on taxation.

Issuing this call, The Qdos Group said they backed Paul Uppal in tackling poor payment practices but argued that a bigger boost to single-person traders would occur if he got behind them on tax.

“[He must] prioritise working with government to build a fairer tax system for the UK’s 4.8m self-employed -- a move which would truly champion UK small business,” the group said.

In line with the assessment, more than six in ten people who work for themselves told the group that they would like to see the government prioritise building a 'fairer' tax system.

In light of this majority vote, Qdos’ CEO Seb Maley said the commissioner should announce a review into the “true impact the current tax system is having on freelancers” and other one-person businesses.

“Recent and potential IR35 reform and the slashing of tax-free dividend allowance have led to 95% of freelancers to believe the government is reducing the benefits of working independently,” Mr Maley said.

Ahead of Autumn Budget 2017, he appealed: “The government must work to win back the support of the self-employed.

“For Britain to be the best place in the world for new entrepreneurs, we need a tax system which works for everyone, and takes into consideration the added risk and lack of security that this way of working brings.”