Unfortunately the Revenue takes the highly unhelpful view that self-employed people have to pay tax just like everyone else with an income. The problem is of course that self-employed people don't have their taxes deducted at source so they run the risk of not keeping money back to settle their taxes when they're due.
You could put forward an IVA to settle the old debt but the Revenue will take your compliance record into account when they decide on whether to vote in favour of it or not, they would also want to see that your future earnings are sufficient to pay your future tax bills as well as your living costs and IVA payments. Finally, an IVA, being a multiple debt solution, is only really suitable if you have other debts as well, such as consumer debts, which can be lumped in with it. If your sole debt is with the Inland Revenue, then probably you will go bankrupt or alternatively you can try to thrash out a repayment plan with the Collector of Taxes.
Eventually companies are going to have to pay more for transport, or the nation's army of hauliers will simply decline the work and pay on offer. Your employers need you just as much as you need them or their stuff will just lie unsold at distribution depots.
Probably you will have to come to some adjustment in your lifestyle, I don't know what your wife's earnings are, but maybe she will have to increase her income, and some elements of your family expenditure will have to be reduced to bring you back to a level where you can afford to start paying back some of the old debt.
Philip Beck
Licensed Insolvency Practitioner and IVA specialist
