Mel Stride, architect of IR35 tells LBC’s Nick Ferrari that it is not working

Appearing on LBC with Nick Ferrari earlier this morning as part of his campaign to become the next Tory Leader, Mel Stride, the architect of the Off-payroll IR35 reforms has admitted that the legislation is not working properly and needs reviewing.  He was also quizzed on the loan charge.

Dave Chaplin, CEO of contracting authority ContractorCalculator said, “Mel Stride was the architect of IR35 and repeatedly denied the problems it was inflicting on contractors, the firms that hire them and the economy as a whole, despite all the contrary evidence presented to him.

Today he has confessed to yet another Conservative coverup – IR35 is not working properly and needs reviewing.

“Moreover, Stride delivered a half-truth on the loan charge using Nick Ferrari as an example of someone who paid a person via a loan in a bid to avoid tax. What Stride failed to say is that Nick’s worker was forced to work through a specific scheme to get the job, and by doing so Nick should have been liable for the unpaid tax and not the worker.

“The loan charge reversed the liability and made the worker liable, and not Nick. Nick, as promoter got off scot-free, whilst the Loan Charge wreaked havoc on the lives of ordinary working people who had been forced into the schemes.

“Mel Stride was famously called the ‘Misleader’ of the House by Paul Lewis on Moneybox some years ago and he continues to mislead to further his own career as we heard on LBC earlier today. Lack of trust was the reason the Tories were ejected in the General Election and Stride is the wrong person to rebuild trust in the Conservative Party.”