The term 'personal service company' is not defined in law. It is understood generally to mean a limited company, the sole or main shareholder of which is also its director, who, instead of working directly for clients, or taking up employment with other businesses, operates through his company. The company contracts with clients, either directly or through an agency, to supply the services of its director. There are many reasons for the use of personal service companies, including the possibility of reducing tax and national insurance bills. The Government's anti-avoidance legislation, often referred to as IR35, is complex and raises its own problems. The report is not intended to be a comprehensive reference work; instead it focuses on five main areas: (1) The use of personal service companies, relevant legislation and recent trends; (2) the continuing viability of the IR35 legislation; (3) HMRC's administration and the effect of recent reforms; (4) implications for the lower-paid; (5) the public sector. The Committee point to the absence of reliable information collected by HMRC. This could be rectified by amending the personal tax return and employer year end declaration and making the questions on service companies compulsory, rather than optional. HMRC failed to demonstrate that they had a sound basis for the £550m of tax and national insurance that they cited as being at risk if IR35 were to be abolished or suspended. Low-paid workers may not be aware that employment by these companies means they have fewer employment rights.

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The Finance Bill Sub-Committee of the Economic Affairs Committee has met most years since 2003 to examine selected aspects of the year's Finance Bill or, since 2013, draft Finance Bill. The FBSC began its inquiry into the draft Finance Bill 2016 in January and chose to focus on two cross-cutting issues: the extent to which measures proposed in the draft Bill contribute to the simplification of the personal tax system; and their impact on the compliance burdens of taxpayers. In considering these two broad issues, the inquiry concentrated on three areas in the draft Bill: the clauses reforming the taxation of savings income and dividends; those providing new powers for HMRC to issue Simple Assessments of an individual's tax liability; and those establishing the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) on a statutorybasis.

This comprehensive Research Handbook explores the rights of employers and employees with regard to intellectual property (IP) created within the framework of the employment relationship. Investigating the development of employee IP from a comparative perspective, it contextualises issues in the light of theoretical approaches in both IP law and labour law.