For over a year now, the Government has been threatening to restrict the expenses that contractors are able to claim. Along with others in our industry, we campaigned against this happening. Despite our best efforts, the draft Finance Bill 2016 confirms that the changes are being pushed through as expected.
When we enter the new tax year, legislation will come into effect that prevents contractors claiming expenses, except in limited circumstances. For the vast majority of Umbrella employees, this means no more (or very few) expenses after 6th April 2016.
Unsurprisingly, 92% of Key Portfolio workers we surveyed think this is unfair, and we couldn’t agree more. We firmly believe contractors must be supported, empowered and rewarded. Sadly, the Government’s decision has the opposite effect.
Fortunately, we’re well positioned to help counterbalance the impact it could have on you. Our plan for 2016 is to keep doing all of the things you’ve told us you like best about our service, while adding even more benefits. We believe this is the best way to continue adding value to your career, while complying with both the letter and spirit of the new laws.
When the new tax year arrives, Key Portfolio will carry on providing you with the stability and security of employment, with a service that includes:
In addition to all of this, in April we’ll be launching an exclusive package of perks and discounts, designed to help your pay stretch further. You’ll make exceptional savings on shopping, restaurants, travel, days out and lots more. At the same time, we’ll also be reducing the margin that we retain for our services.
The fundamental appeal of Key Portfolio has always centred around the stability and security of employment, and we will keep building on that concept. In fact, our intention is to evolve it into the ultimate employment service for contractors, with all sorts of added benefits that one might expect from an employer. Our perks and discounts package is just the first of these.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be releasing more info about the perks package and how you can access it. In the meantime, if you have a question about any of the changes happening in April, you may find the answer over on our Support Centre. If you’d like to chat it through, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
