Building industry unites to fight tax crackdown

Housebuilders and construction workers have begun a campaign to fight off a new tax crackdown on the building trade, which the industry claims will stifle the sector’s recovery and make it difficult to hit government housing targets.

The Home Builders Federation and the Federation of Master Builders will launch its Stop the Unfair Building Tax campaign today to try to persuade the government to rethink proposals that the industry says will push more workers into the black market.

The Government wants to stamp out false self-employed status in the building industry, which it says costs the Exchequer £350 million a year.

It proposes to collect tax and national insurance contributions from an estimated 300,000 workers who claim self-employed status.

Workers will be deemed employees unless they supply their own materials and equipment, or other people’s labour as well as their own.