With the list of law-abiding businesses suffering competitive disadvantages versus firms committing NIC and PAYE fraud only growing larger, Kevin Browning, Managing Director of Global Tunnelling Experts UK Ltd, blasts unscrupulous companies and calls upon the government to crack down on such activity.
We are proud to say that Global Tunnelling Experts is a Construction Line Platinum and Railway Industry Supplier Qualification Scheme [RISQS] approved, specialist employer within the UK. As a member of The Leaders Council, I abide by the non-negotiable set of core pledges to share my knowledge within the wider community to raise standards and improve leadership skills nationwide. I also strive to offer my honest and considered advice to all who should, in good faith, seek it, and to treat all associates, partners, employees, suppliers and customers with the utmost courtesy and respect.
I also commit to making a positive social and environmental impact where possible and make every conceivable effort to deal exclusively with organisations and individuals of repute. However, despite the fact we strictly adhere to all these principles, we at GTE UK Ltd are not winning major contracts within major tunnelling projects in this country.
I strongly believe that the reason for this is because GTE insists on abiding by the law around PAYE. I have voiced my opinion before around the perils of employees being forced to work under the Construction Industry Scheme [CIS] by employers who take advantage of umbrella companies. Despite the impact these activities are having on the public purse, my words have fallen on deaf ears in Westminster.
The government has announced that it will seek to increase revenue and solve the crisis in our Health and Social Care sector by raising National Insurance Contributions, and I am not in disagreement with this.
But what I ask of the Prime Minister is why he is allowing such vast sums of much needed revenue to be washed out of reach of our National Health Service and other public services by allowing companies to avoid employers’ National Insurance Contributions, right when this country needs that tax revenue most? Raising National Insurance Contributions will have little effect on companies avoiding paying them out completely.
IR35 was a glimmer of hope for companies such as GTE UK Ltd, but it has been very badly managed and therefore not enforced. As a result, no one to date has been held accountable for the appalling acts of tax evasion we have seen.
I realise that with my continuing down the line of drawing attention to this issue, since it is quite deeply rooted, is also beginning to have a detrimental effect upon our company. However, if other businesses truly have nothing to hide, it will not affect them by working with us.
Our Prime Minister is not there to be popular; he is there to get things done and we as members of the Leaders Council are charged with the task of helping him do that. I call upon him to listen to our concerns and rectify this issue.
Photo supplied by GTE UK Ltd
