It is not the job for the assessor of income tax to advise an individual whether they are self-employed or not.

Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan was asked in the House of Keys by Jason Moorhouse (Arbory, Castletown and Malew) what criteria is used to determine if an individual is self-employed for the purpose of tax decisions.

Mr Cannan said that ’what constitutes self-employment is determined by case law rather than by statue.

’Individuals who wish to be self-employed must apply to the assessor [of income tax] and it is only then that their employment will be categorised. When categorising an employment, the assessor will look at four main areas: mutual obligation, control, integration and economic reality.

’Established case law assists the assessor in determining how these areas should be applied to different self-employed trades, and when all the circumstances of engagement have been considered the assessor will determine if the individual is actually self-employed or not.’

He confirmed the assessor does not advise individuals on their employment structure.