The UK Government is launching a review of how collaborative consumption models etc (some of which involve to provision of personal services) should be regulated/encouraged/[taxed]. The review will in particular look at peer-to-peer marketplaces that allow people to share possessions, time and skills.
The Government states that focus will be on 3 sectors where the sharing economy is increasingly well-established:
- Personal and commercial space
- Transport (eg car clubs and ride sharing)
- Time and skills
The review will consider any risks to consumers or established businesses. One question might be: are traditional recruiters being hurt unfairly by online recruitment/ online marketplaces for personal services? Others might be: does the regulation of “payment services” need to apply to online marketplaces that also act as payment collection agencies for users? Does there need to be a special consumer protection law governing these marketplaces?
We wonder whether the review may also look at tax opportunities (and tax avoidance) in the shared economy! Are these marketplaces allowing people to “earn” outside the PAYE/VAT system?
This is a separate initiative to the long-promised review of whether online labor exchanges and other platforms which help people find work should be treated as recruitment companies for UK regulatory purposes (thereby prohibiting them from charging introduction fees or membership fees to work-seekers). Osborne Clarke co-ordinated representations by many online recruiters in the consultation about this in 2013 and are expecting draft regulations from BIS in the next 5 weeks on this.