The UK government has today (17 October 2022) reversed its plan to repeal the extensions to off-payroll tax arrangements legislated in 2017 and 2021.

The extensions made employers responsible for assessing the employment status of contractors they engage through intermediate companies and thus determining whether the contractors should pay income tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) through the pay-as-you-earn system. The rules attracted considerable opposition and the Growth Plan 2022 (the Growth Plan) announced on 27 September by the then-Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng announced they would be repealed with effect from April 2023.

Today's reversal means the measures will now remain in place for next year at least, saving an estimated GBP1–2 billion a year in tax revenues.

Many of the other measures from the Growth Plan are also being dropped, the new chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced.

The basic rate of personal income tax will remain at 20 per cent indefinitely and ...