IR35....... Is Everyone Going Perm?

With the increase in remote roles and the diversification of economies in the GCC here at eMagine we have seen a massive increase of job applicants coming from the UK contracting market.

When asked why they are now looking at the UAE (still number 1 choice) and KSA there is a variety of pull factors. These include the usual ones such as tax free living, sunshine and low crime rates however a new one which we are increasingly see is the changes in the UK IR35 regulations.

The UK's IR35 legislation ensures that contractors pay the same Tax and National Insurance contributions as an equivalent employee. New IR35 changes will be implemented in April 2021 for private sector contractors that will transfer responsibility from contractors to large and medium companies to assess IR35. The 2021 reform will bring private sector IR35 in line with the public sector, where the reform was implemented in 2017.

With the huge surge in startups and Tech projects in the GCC will there be a shift in top Tech talent moving to low tax / tax free jurisdictions?