Paying with cash is wrong say top taxman.

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I expect a fair number of the small scale tradesmen that insist on being paid in cash are also claiming benefits on the side.

Of course lol they're probably caking!

Reply 41

MagicNMedicine

Original post by TheCurlyHairedDude

Of course lol they're probably caking!

And who says all those on benefits are lazy and workshy :wink:

Reply 42

beautifulbigmacs

I have been offered cash in hand work before and turned it down.

Accepting payment in this way means that you lose your employment rights and because you are not paying tax and NI, someone will get in touch with you to say "well what have you been living off then?" and then you might have to pay the tax man more as a result of this. You get no holiday pay, no proof of earnings, no notice period, no proof of employment. And this is all before I mention the fact that the student loan people also need to know what you're earning.

I aspire to work in the beauty industry and a lot of cash in hand payments are offered here. It's basically because the employer is too sly/lazy/stipid/unorgnised to pay your tax and ni on your behalf.

Also, with no tax and NI being paid on your behalf, it makes it very hard to get benefits should you require them at a later date. It can also affect getting a loan/credit for stuff etc.

Far too messy. These people are part of a hidden industry.

For what it's worth, my concerns are more related to how cash in hand affects the (honest!) employee because the employers negligence can land the employee in hot water and this is exploitation of people who want to work in my opinion.

Google "cash in hand" for more info on how this can affect your rights as an employee

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 43

The_Internet

Original post by TurboCretin

Even if that is what he is saying, though, it is simply because it is easier for consumers to not pay cash than for HMRC to police every untraceable transaction which happens behind closed doors. I see no real issue with what is being said here.

But does it really take a "top tax man" to say that. I've thought this for years. Paying by card means a company can properly do their accounting, instead of cash flowing through and going missing in various departments (or undisclosed from the gov't)

Reply 44

Keckers

Tax avoidance is the mortal duty of every member of the public.

Reply 45

Keckers

Original post by Barden

Actually its the attitude of the US population I was referring to.

On the note of healthcare, we already see it in the US. Insurance companies will not cover or pay out treatments they deem to expensive, even if there is no alternative. Whereas our NHS will stump up the cash if there's no other way.

Yes, I extrapolate this to education... I posit that the US population is wary of completely privatised education due to what they've seen in their healthcare system.

You mean their only partly privatised health care system which is strangled by both federal and state level regulation which has pushed up prices and restricted access to those most in need?

Extrapolates perfectly to our education system where schools are run by government who seem hell bent in keeping our 19th century way of teaching and allowing absolutely no innovation which would allow schools to take a different, more appropriate approach to education suited for the 21t century.

It seems you've done very well to assert that government has strangled the potential of two very important services, all at the expense of the people they are meant to serve. Hoorah.

Reply 46

username133326

Original post by Keckers

Extrapolates perfectly to our education system where schools are run by government who seem hell bent in keeping our 19th century way of teaching and allowing absolutely no innovation which would allow schools to take a different, more appropriate approach to education suited for the 21t century.

I wasn't aware that left-handers were still beaten into writing with their right hand and that children were still beaten for speaking Welsh in school.

What are you actually even on about?

Reply 47

Arekkusu

That's a bit ominous - the day cash is no longer legal tender is the day we might as well give up all our control to The Man. The machines too.

Reply 48

User414413

Original post by MagicNMedicine

I expect a fair number of the small scale tradesmen that insist on being paid in cash are also claiming benefits on the side.

This. You're basically screwing yourselves over.

Reply 49

MagicNMedicine

It would be interesting if nobody was able to pay 'cash in hand' how much illegal immigration there would be.

How many illegal immigrants get paid through proper payroll services?

Reply 50

Keckers

Original post by Barden

I wasn't aware that left-handers were still beaten into writing with their right hand and that children were still beaten for speaking Welsh in school.

What are you actually even on about?

The only part that has progressed (or simply changed, depending on your personal outlook) is the disciplinary side of teaching.

However, we are still entrenched in an outdated term system, an old fashioned view of ICT, a counter productive examination system and the strange platitude about raising standards being batted about by the political class.

What we have is a one size fits all education system which alienates millions of kids and caters to an odd level of mediocrity, with absolutely no alternative available to those who can't afford private education.

By all means allow the state to be a financier of education, but giving the state a monopoly over the curriculum is demonstrably counter productive.

Reply 51

Hopple

Original post by Mbob

No, but if a tradesman offers to do the job a bit cheaper for cash in hand then you're colluding with him to break the law.

Whilst you might be right to question his motives, it's still down to him to declare it or not.

Reply 52

Bax-man

Original post by Barden

Your premise is faulty - the system of healthcare provision is nothing even remotely resembling one that would arise on a genuinely competitive free market. The Food and Drug Administration limits and restricts the use of medical treatments, the government imposes numerous arbitrary and counterproductive restrictions on who is insured, for what, and for how much. Medicare and Medicaid warp incentives for consumers. Legislation prevents local insurers from competing across state borders. The medical unions limit the ability of new individuals to enter the market for being a doctor, pushing up prices and decreasing competition. A free market in provision it is not. It is a corporatist mess.

Reply 53

Jubilee2012

The taxes are robbery. It's no surprise that they want more money, because they get it so easily.

Reply 54

Jubilee2012

Original post by Arekkusu

That's a bit ominous - the day cash is no longer legal tender is the day we might as well give up all our control to The Man. The machines too.

That's a very good point. It looks like they want to control the money and every other aspect of our lives. Probably to make themselves richer and more powerful at our expense as they have been doing.

Reply 55

amongsttheweeds

Original post by hothedgehog

There's nothing wrong with paying someone in cash. However, the person who is being paid should be filling in a self employed tax return to declare what they're earning. It's not up to the person paying to make sure that the other person is doing this.

An excellent and concise post. +rep.

Reply 56

InArduisFouette

this is not about paying with cash but about , deliberate conscious choices to evade taxation through black market practices

Reply 57

InArduisFouette

Original post by Arekkusu

That's a bit ominous - the day cash is no longer legal tender is the day we might as well give up all our control to The Man. The machines too.

'Legal Tender' is only relevant in the settlement of a debt.

The HMRC official quoted in the first post in not talking aobut paying with cash but about the black market , the " cash in hand, wink wink nudge nudge, a little be waaayy a little bit wooooo i'm a geezer " economy

A number of posters in the thread appear to be confusing tax evasion with tax efficiency ...

Reply 58

Besakt

It ain't my problem if the plumber decides to lie on his tax form. If he offers me a cheaper price if I pay cash in hand then I'm all for it.

Reply 59

jacketpotato

If you are getting a 5% cash discount, that's fine because there is a legitimate reason for that discount. But if you are getting a 20% discount for cash-in-hand, you know that the whole purpose of paying cash is to enable the trader to commit tax fraud. You might as well be an accountant who lies about his client's tax returns or forges fake receipts so that his client can use them in his tax return.

Its fraud, plain and simple.