After reading up some more I would say we should be very interested in the outcomes of existing investigations. If HMRC win and win any appeals then I would say it’s open season for all online accountants including Crunch.
The tests seem very vague and “influencing the running of clients companies” could end up meaning if they tell you or strongly suggest how much PAYE and dividends to take and if you follow that instruction.
It seems staggering to think that you could end up owing tens of thousands of pounds of tax because HMRC took a view that a missing checkbox in a piece of software means Crunch was influencing how companies were run even though you are a legitimate business paying every penny of tax owed.
It is an increasingly hostile environment and I think HMRC are quite clear they want an end to limited company contractors.
Of course one hopes that calm heads prevail and HMRC loses and given the huge potential losses in this sector one would think it will be defended vigorously.
