Who do you pay in cash?

Definitely!

Seriously, it's not the ordinary people like us who brought the economy to its knees. Rather the fat cats and the bankers.

Window cleaner is the only one I can think of... oh! and OH has a bowls pal who does minor plumbing repairs for us.. he's retired so does he count?

It's neither immoral nor illegal to pay in cash! It is the responsibility of the recipient to declare all earnings to HMRC and it is illegal not to do so.

Yes, sometimes, and I leave it to whomever I pay to declare ther income the way everyone else has to. I don't employ a cleaner, but if I did I would use a local agency, and they would have a contract regarding income tax.

Have MPs got nothng better to do than try to shift the attention away from themselves and the fat cats?

I pay cash for minor jobs, fitting of blinds,basic call-out of plumber etc. Not going to writ a cheque for £50.

Yes - I pay cash to gardening helper. I just assume he declares it (!?) and it is none of my business if he doesn't.

I pay cash to my cleaner. I read that, to be liable to pay VAT, she would have to earn £77,000 a year. A long way from that, I think. As for her income tax, that's for her to sort out, not me.

My husband is self employed, and when asked how he would like to be paid, always replies 'whatever is easier for you'. His customers vary, some prefer to pay by cheque and some prefer to pay in cash. It makes no difference to him as it is all accounted for correctly. I wish the Government would concentrate on what they have been elected to do, instead of creating unrest and bad feeling, when there is no need to do so.

Mishap - ditto.

"Paying a cleaner in cash is morally wrong" so says Tory minister David Gauke who used his parliamentary expenses to pay his Stamp Duty. We seem to be lions led by donkeys, no on second thoughts make that lions led by lemmings, better alliteration and more relevant given that we seem to be led by politicians of all parties who are intent on leading us over a cliff edge into the abyss. Yes always pillory the small person trying to make ends meet whilst letting huge corporations and individuals get away with paying hardly any or no tax. So fed up with the "don't do as I do, but do as I say" brigade" wish they would all just disappear!

baNANA It is extremely dispiriting that which ever way we turn we are being ripped off by the "lemmings", while they look for ever more ways of parting us from any small amounts of cash we may have scrimped away!

When will the revolution start?

Ella46, I think it may be sooner than we think. Spain and Greece are both hotbeds of discontent, I don't see how you can have 50% of youngsters unemployed it's not sustainable in the long run. How long before those countries descend into anarchy. European politicians carry on as if the Euro is invincible and once again who suffers the most, ordinary people who have done nothing wrong.

I have to admit I've done cash in hand. I didn't think of it as immoral. To me it was a way of making ends meet and feeding my children. But then I didin't have access to expenses, golden hellos, golden handshakes or large bonuses.

If they want to stop "cash in hand" payments, then they need to start setting a good example!

I think what they are having a go are the slighly bigger things we get done, ie the builder who does a job 'cash in hand' and does not declare all his earnings. I've recently learned that if one does employ a dodgey builder or tradesman who then also makes an illegal dumping of anything you have taken away, and is caught, then you, as their customer, are jointly liable. Its up to us the check that they have the required disposal arrangements.

vampire A fair point. Well said.

I use the same builder for a variety of jobs in several houses. Sometimes it suits him to be paid partly in cash – say half of a £1,600 bill. He always gives me an accurate invoice for the full amount and he knows that I list that amount and his name in the accounts that I submit to Revenue and Customs. It's a question of convenience not tax avoidance and I resent being lectured by Mr Gauke. I don't have a cleaner at the moment, but when I did, it would have been no good giving her a cheque because she didn't have a bank account – nor did she have a machine for registering payment by credit or debit card. Who is this fool of a man?

My toy boy, my drug dealer, the barman.

Sounds like a fun life susuiecb

susieb

A chap on the radio on Jeremy Vines show.said..that yes of course he gets paid in cash most of the time...the reason..! if he gets paid via a cheque he has to take time out to go to the bank (during banking hrs, not always convenient) then when he does put his cheque in the bank! he has to wait 5 working days for it to clear! but this did not make him not pay taxes etc just because he got paid in cash..it went on to say that one should not be acused of not paying taxes just because you got paid in cash..it was quite an interesting debate.

Even the top politicians are at it!

even the Prime Minister

Now we know for sure who's running the asylum!

Good point bikergran. Cash doesn't mean they're not paying tax and VAT. It also means that they know they're not going to have trouble with any dodgy cheques.

My SIL is a window cleaner. All his takings are in cash. He keeps accurate accounts and pays his taxes.