Record Number Of Self Employed

[Gromit]

// The Bank announced that one of the most “striking” features of the economic recovery has been the record 4.5 million Britons who are now self-employed.
According to official figures, the number of self-employed workers has risen by more than 600,000 since 2010, accounting for more than a third of the 1.5 million new jobs created since then. //

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/10783556/Benefit-cuts-creating-new-generation-of-entrepreneurs-Bank-of-England-suggests.html

Yippee! Or is it?

[Peter Pedant]

Well from the tax mans point of view no

SE taxpayers pay 2% of the take
( no they dont pay 2% tax before your piggy eyes light up. The total they pay is 2% of the tax take by the govt. Most of it is PAYE )

The main thing about being employed is the cheque at the end of the month. If your employer is truly truly crap as a lot of NHS local mgrs are,
or you are on zero hour contract
then it is natural to say that you could do better by oneself.

[scooping]

Interesting, yes, but can't help but wonder how many might be playing a game with tax credits. All your housing benefit can be paid if you can show that you are only making up to £153 a week in profit as self-employed. That amounts to roughly £450 a week in housing benefit for a single person. Now add in tax credits. That can be up to £140 a week in working family tax credit and child tax credit, if, say, you have one child. Not being judgemental but these tax credits, as I understand it, are not available to people on ESA or JSA. So it may be that some are better off self-employed, showing they make little money and getting substantial benefits. Don't blame them.

[ToraToraTora]

well I know the left hate any sort of prosperity but why would this be anything other than good news?

[Gromit]

When someone is made redundant they can receive contribution based Jobseeker's Allowance for 6 months. Because they have paid contributions that benefit is not means tested.

After 6 months the benefit becomes means tested. And if they got a redundancy pay off (or indeed savings) of over £5,500 then they get no benefit.

However, if they set up as self employed, they continue to get additional payments. Most are not viable businesses, they are just a means of getting a bit more money rather than nothing.
The Government's own website enthuses:

// The new enterprice allowance scheme.

2,000 new businesses being set up each month – more than 40,000 in total
over 9,000 businesses being started by people aged 50 or over
over 7,000 disabled people becoming their own boss. //

https://www.gov.uk/new-enterprise-allowance

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/new-enterprise-allowance-campaign

The tax rake from these are pitiful because most are not going to earn any profits. We will soon have record number of companies failing.

All to hide the true unemployment figures.

[emmie]

one hopes that they aren't working in the black economy.

[ummmm]

I wouldn't say it's a good thing. HMRC can't check every person who submits a SA so how would they know if you'd spent 'x' amount on various things unless they see the receipts.

[tamborine]

Black economy it is ;)

How else does a man avoid CSA costs

[youngmafbog]

//We will soon have record number of companies failing//

I doubt it, most will be self employed but not through a company. I think you may have meant to use the word business but in your haste to Tory bash you mis-typed.

[Gromit]

Correct ymb.