Don't poke lions

摘要

Tony Bingham Composite companies hold out the promise of tax savings for the self-employed, so of course they are popular -just make sure you understand how they work so you don't provoke the taxman. Blowed if I can fathom what an "umbrella company" is, or for that matter a "composite company" or a "PAYE umbrella" or a "salary-only umbrella" or a "single person company". Nor in truth am I convinced that my plasterer or bricklayer pals understand what it is to hold a share in their employing company and to declare dividends to themselves in respect of that share. And, since the construction industry heaves with workers (and by that, I mean surveyors, contract managers, and sundry tradesmen, who quietly say they are self-employed), they are game for some of this composite umbrella stuff. Why? Tax advantages are why. But do watch out.