IR35: PCG gets excited over nothing

For the time being, the answer is no. We're near the end of the tax year, and the redraft will not happen straight away. So this year's tax returns must be made on the basis of the original guidelines.

The PCG has interpreted what happened today as a win for contractors. But this isn't necessarily the case. It remains to be seen whether the Inland Revenue will act and whether it will be held accountable.

These 'amendments' may well end up embroiled in red tape. They may never actually surface. Law firm Tarlo Lyos has gone as far as to say that the PCG has misinterpreted today's ruling. It believes nothing will change because the ruling isn't legally binding.

Chaos prevails, and the process to unravel the confusion is even more confusing.

And the situation will only be made worse by the fact that it is only days before the end of the tax year.

John Whiting, a senior tax partner with KPMG, said: "The fact remains those individuals who have had their fingers, feet and everything else crossed hoping today's ruling would go their way, only have a few days to sort things out."

The only certainty from today is that at the busiest time of the year for accountants, it just got a whole lot busier.