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Tax tortur • owner-driv
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lams work
ALLEGATIONS of discrimination against owner-drivers over the working of new tax benefit arrangements have been flying this week.
The new benefits allow people employed by limited companies who spend more than a certain period abroad each year to claim tax relief — but they do not cover self-employed people.
Previously, a driver would need to have a job abroad before he was able to claim any relief. Now he can tot-up the time he spends away from Britain, even if he is based over here.
A Road Haulage Association spokesman described the new arrangements as "an iniquitous discrimination against the owner driver with absolutely no justification."
He said that the scheme was being worked in this way purely for the administrative benefit of the Treasury.
And the National Federz tion for the Self Employed als condemned the new scheme. , spokesman urged all self-en ployed people to form then selves into ...limited companiE 'in order to claim the extr benefits.
"As usual the Treasur complain that it would be to much trouble to extend th scheme to the self-employe( in the same way that th Department of Health an Social Security chopped th independent sector from th earnings related pension scheme."
He said that it was rubbis to say that the scheme coul not be extended. "It is just simple mathematical proce to assess the amount came abroad," he said.
A Treasury spokesman e) plained that the allowanc could amount to around 25 pE at of the tax paid over the Hod that the worker was out the country. But he saw no ison why the self-employed Duld not form themselves ,o limited companies to dm the benefits and others owed to companies.
An ultimatum has now been livered to the Government the NFSE on the subject. Ither the Government mild make tax concessions ailable for all or they should er the regulations so that yone can form a limited mpany and derive the benes of being an employed ector," said the spokesman.
ie accused financial secre-i y Robert Sheldon and Gomment ministers of giving ;urances that they recog;ed the value of the f-employed, but ignoring !rn when any new piece of islation was introduced.