Freelance workers are demanding greater debate on the issue of tax avoidance.
Praising Labour MP Austin Mitchell's Early Day Motion for a discussion on corporate tax avoidance, the Professional Contractors Group (PCG) said that while Mitchell's motion seems to focus on big business, the issue also affects many small businesses.
"Our members have had long and bitter experience of hastily implemented anti-avoidance measures," said Simon Juden, chairman of the PCG. "The 'IR35' legislation was aimed at artificial arrangements, but continues to catch many genuine businesses in its net."
PGC said it agrees that companies should pay fair taxes on their profits but wants a 'sensible' debate on the issue of tax avoidance in order to establish consistency, clarity and common sense in the UK's tax system.
Juden said that many smaller firms have found themselves inadvertently in violation of the tax code and called for reform.
"We've seen how the current interpretation of the settlements legislation penalises thousands of family businesses who acted in good faith by adopting the corporate structure recommended by most accountants and the government's own advisory services," Juden said.
Juden said that the government must adopt a simpler tax system that both encourages business but protects the interests of ordinary citizens.
"Transactions entered into for reasons of tax advantage rather than commercial purposes should certainly not be allowed to pass unchallenged," he added.
"We welcome any debate that leads to hard-working small businesses having their arrangements respected while tax loopholes exploited by businesses both large and small will be closed."
Early Day Motion is a colloquial term for a notice given by a Member of Parliament for which no date has been fixed for debate.
