By Gary Sharp, Director, IPSE

THE panto season is almost upon us. Up and down the land last-minute rehearsals are taking place.

Principal boys are strutting their stuff. Pantomime dames are slapping on the rouge. The villains are contorting their faces to find the expression that will best antagonise the hordes. Tomorrow, the stage is set for the biggest panto of them all: The Budget.

Theresa May will have slapped on the rouge. The pantomime horse will be Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, squabbling over who’s in the front and who’s bringing up the rear. Jeremy Corbyn will try and convince everyone that he’s the principal boy.

But the villain of the piece will be Philip Anthony Hammond. He can be sure of boos and hissing in the seats all around him.

This is a Chancellor that seems to unite everyone in derision. Adding to the crescendo of disdain will be the voices of around 4.8million self-employed, contractors and freelancers.

So why is Mr Hammond turning his attention to this growth sector? If pre-Budget leaks are to be believed Mr Hammond is moving to make the “damaging and destructive” IR35 tax laws even worse.

IR35 laws basically allow the Government to tax the self-employed as employees – without any of the benefits. In April, Mr Hammond changed these laws in the public sector, shifting the decision about who should and shouldn’t be “under IR35” from the self-employed themselves to their clients.

Not understanding the complexities of the issue, many public sector clients have just declared all their contractors “under IR35”, or employees without benefits. Thousands have left the public sector, stalling all kinds of Government projects. But now Boo-hiss Hammond seems determined to make the same mistake in the private sector.

It’s not just IR35 changes either: he’s also looking to lower the £85,000 VAT threshold, which will do untold damage to thousands more self-employed people. In attacking the self-employed, he’ll do significant damage to the flexible labour market and, by extension, the whole economy.

Earlier this year Mr Hammond threatened the self-employed community by announcing a big increase to self-employed Natioanal Insurance contributions which were declared in the Spring Budget. My organisation IPSE, the biggest body in the UK representing the self-employed, was at the forefront of calls to reconsider these measures and we were delighted when the Government listened to our representations to scrap legislation.

It seemed odd that Boo-hiss Hammond seemed intent on causing harm to the goose that laid the golden egg. In the past the Chancellor and his party have lauded this growing sector.

David Cameron said of the freelance community: “Our country owes a huge debt of gratitude to the thousands of men and women who have decided to make their living as freelancers. You have not only taken your own future into your own hands, but you are the engine of our economy and economic revival.”

Indeed in 2001 in Westminster the member for Runnymede said of the iniquitous IR35 tax introduced by the Labour Government:

“We need to focus on the flexibility that microbusinesses and small businesses deliver because they provide a unique adjustment factor in the economy. One reason why the Government’s IR35 initiative has been so damaging and destructive is the fact that it has hit at the most flexible part of the economy.”

Oh, the MP for Runnymede? Yes, you’ve guessed it, Philip Hammond. Oh yes it was. Oh yes it was.