Charter of Contractual Fairness
On 1 July we launched our Charter of Contractual Fairness

We have heavily drawn the principles of contract fairness from the new consumer unfair contract protections laws. If it's fair for consumers, it's fair for small business people - the self-employed and independent contractors.

We are currently writing to Australian corporations asking them to commit to contract fairness in their dealings with small business people.
Our Campaigning
ICA's principal commitment is to lobby/advocate on small business issues. Here are our current campaigns:
Unfair Contract Protections
ICA says "extend unfair contract protections for consumers to small business". Our overview is here.
Stop Sham Contracts
ICA supports the prevention of sham contracts. We monitor what's happening with them. Our summary links are here.
Stop Phoenix Companies
Here's our commentary and some further links on the Phoenix problem.
Defend Contractor Tax
ICA has long fought to protect fair contractor tax laws.
Election Face-off 2010
The federal election was held on on 21 August 2010. ICA was active in assessing the policies of the ALP and the Coalition. Here's our comparative summary of the parties' policies just before the election.
Australian military aircraft (JSF). Bad deal?
Australia's decision to buy the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) as the backbone of our air defence is under attack. Is this a bad procurement and contract management stuff-up? We've summarised the arguments and included some useful videos.

We Oppose Workplace Bullying
ICA opposes attempts by construction unions to bully their way on to work sites. Here are the issues from 2010:
Overview
Union violence on Westgate
Unions make threats

Laughing lawyers
You'll be amazed by the 'slips' that some lawyers make in court.
Watching Global Economies
Watching the USA
The US economy appears to be in recession. At the very least, we're getting very mixed signals about what's happening. Click here for a rundown on some of the best links we've found.
Watching China
China has just passed Japan as the world's second largest economy. It could become the largest global economy by 2030. We're maintaining a watching brief on the Chinese economy here.
Watching Goldman Sachs
Rolling Stone magazine has blown the lid on Goldman Sachs:
Article 1 [July 2009]
Article 2 [April 2010]
Article 3 [May 2010]
Central Banks on Debt
Since mid-May, central banks have been worried about sovereign debt. Click here for a list of useful links and summaries.
What the Pessimists said (January 2010)
We've brought together some pessimistic views about economics and likely economic trends in 2010:
US toxic loans
'US as sick as Greece'
Ken Phillips's summary
An 'IMF' perspective
Predicting 2010
Government debt a giant ponzi scheme?


Click to enlarge.

Ken Phillips on the debt equation

Industry/Retail super funds must come out
The Cooper Review into superannuation says the big funds are not disclosing enough and must be forced to do so. This is vital. See Chapter 4.

Here's why workers' money is at risk if disclosure is not enforced.
Look after your retirement
The Cooper Review of superannuation says Self Managed Super Funds are good and need little change to existing arrangements. This is welcome. See Chapter 8.

The Report also seems to have stopped the attack against SMSF's.
Understanding "Us": Self-employed People
ICA is committed to quality research to understand self-employed people.

6 July 2010: We released a unique research report made possible by an unusual collaborative effort. The report shatters many preconceived beliefs about 'us'; small and micro-business people. We believe it has global implications.

Main points and commentary
Summary
Full report.

20 July 2010: Here's further research from Flying Solo:
Report Summary; Full report and from Kelly Services: Report. And here's a comparative chart of our own.

Tax Burden: UK versus Australia

June 2010

Just as the UK is moving toward more sensible small business (contractor) tax laws, in Australia we're having to defend the progress we've made.



UK moves to fix bad contractor tax laws
In Australia our tax laws for self-employed people are not perfect, but they are fairly good. The UK has had a big problem (called IR35) for a long time. Now the new UK government has made the following commitment:
    "Review IR35 as part of a wholesale review of all small business taxation, and seek to replace it with simpler measures that prevent tax avoidance but do not place undue administrative burdens or uncertainty on the self employed, or restrict labour market flexibility."
The UK Professional Contractors Group has been fighting for this for a long time. Here are the explanations:

PCG comments on the Queen's speech.
PCG explains IR35 and the proposed changes.

Australia risks going backwards to bad contractor tax laws
We've asked the PM to clarify his position on PSI laws and stop any confusion. The Abbot opposition has called for the contractor PSI laws to remain.

The ATO has won another case against a contractor on PSI laws. This particularly affects IT contractors working through labour hire arrangements. We comment on the problems in this area.

This reinforces other ATO wins. If you're a PTY or Trust, you have to be very careful to pass the results test. Check our PSI ready reckoner.

Update 13 June 2010: Click here for an opinion piece by an IT contractor on the implications for IT people.

Update 14 June 2010: Click here for Ken Phillips' Business Spectator article.