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Construction union UCATT have warned that
a campaign by construction bosses to preserve
secret tax subsidies is simply a bid to 'rob'
the Treasury.
Last week a coalition of construction
companies, led by major house builders,
launched a campaign Stop the Unfair Building
Tax, in an attempt to scupper Treasury
proposals to eradicate bogus self-employment
from the construction industry.
The principal advantage of using bogus
self-employed workers is that employers do not
pay employers National Insurance Contributions.
This is currently a saving of 12.8% per
worker.
Under proposals made in the pre-Budget report
these contributions will increase further by
0.5% to 13.3% from 2011.
Alan Ritchie General Secretary of UCATT,
said: "The Government are spending billions of
pounds on infrastructure projects and new
housing initiatives to kick-start and support
the construction industry and help it out of
recession.
"Rather than being thankful and accepting they
need to pay their fair share of tax, these
construction bosses feel they have a divine
right to rob the Treasury of vital income."
Bogus self-employment occurs through the
Government's stand-alone tax scheme, the
Construction Industry Scheme (CIS).
Previous academic research has conservatively
estimated that there are 400,000 bogus
self-employed workers in construction, which
costs the Treasury £1.7 billion per annum in
lost revenue.
However Treasury officials have recently
conceded to UCATT that there are 850,000
workers currently registered under the CIS
scheme, which indicates an even higher level of
lost revenue.
Brian Berry, Director of External Affairs at
the Federation of Master Builders, whose
organisation is one of the main supporters of
Stop the Unfair Building Tax, has complained
that the Government’s plans are unfair as only
the construction industry is being
targeted.
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