Tax cheats, do you know one?

GrannyGravy13

I find it rather disheartening that people think that using the legal tender of the UK is suspicious and in all probability leads to tax fraud.

In some cases it does. I would never pay a restaurant or takeaway bill in cash. Tax evasion and money laundering are rife. I use cash but am careful where I do so.

I pay with whatever comes to hand.
I would happily revert back to cheques, wages in envelopes, handwritten .letters, and phone calls rather than emails, bankers drafts, apps and ruddy smartphones, though.

Farzanah

I pay window cleaner and cleaner by BACS.
In the past I have found some workmen hint that they will do a cheaper job if paid in cash. This means, if accepted, I would be complicit in tax evasion I presume?
I don’t engage such workmen.

Yes, I pay our window cleaner by BACS.
I'm assuming that, because he's an immigrant! he wants to do everything by the book.

GrannyGravy13

I have said frequently on GN that no Government whatever their persuasion has the balls to go after the big multi national conglomerates who play the system and thereby pay very little tax on their £ billions.

The so called man/women on the street on PAYE along with SME business owners pay all their taxes, and in some situations a proportion is paid upfront.

It is those who are able to get cash in hand jobs and who I imagine (I do not know for certain) do not declare all of their income.

I have said frequently on GN that no Government whatever their persuasion has the balls to go after the big multi national conglomerates who play the system and thereby pay very little tax on their £ billions.

I agree.

Getting wound up about a cleaner not declaring a couple of thousand pounds a year yet ignoring the main problem in tax evasion.

To me, it's up to the tradesman/ woman if they declare what they earn to the HMRC, and I think a lot are quite honest. Even if they didn't declare the £100 for doing a job on the house, the government will get it back in fuel duty on their vehicle or what they decide to spend at the pub.

Barleyfields

GrannyGravy13

I find it rather disheartening that people think that using the legal tender of the UK is suspicious and in all probability leads to tax fraud.

In some cases it does. I would never pay a restaurant or takeaway bill in cash. Tax evasion and money laundering are rife. I use cash but am careful where I do so.

Aren't you rather condemning a whole sector as cheats and criminals? You really believe most restaurants are dishonest in their accounts? I think most people and businesses are honest, and so will pay by whatever means is most convenient to me at the time. I prefer to leave the tip in cash whichever payment method I choose.
And to answer the original question, no I don't think I personally know any tax cheats.

I can think of few things more soul destroying than taking on the role of tax monitoring.

It was bad enough as a real job, let alone on a voluntary basis.

We went to a local tyre replacement company on Friday. When we came to pay the man was rather embarassed when he asked if we could pay cash, as the companies computer system had crashed.

We scraped around our wallets but were £40 short, so I offered him a cheque, which he accepted quite happily.

This goes to show that just because someone asks for cash, no matter how inadequate their reason, they are not necessarily being dishonest.

Sometimes supermarket checkouts have that "cash only" sign... hmmm 🤔
Makes you wonder.

MissAdventure

Sometimes supermarket checkouts have that "cash only" sign... hmmm 🤔
Makes you wonder.

Small shops do like some cash because their suppliers ask for cash, trust is not always taken for granted!.

In my local supermarkets there are card only signs on some tills. I haven't seen cash only ones. In my local bakery they ask you to only use cards for £5 or more due to bank charges.

GrannyGravy13

I find it rather disheartening that people think that using the legal tender of the UK is suspicious and in all probability leads to tax fraud.

But if they are saying "cheaper for cash" then surely that's wrong.
Processing fees for transactions through a bank are usually very low - certainly not leading to 10 or 20% lower cost of a service?

These people are presumably not declaring everything?

I've not heard that phrase since I was a teen/early 20s.

MissAdventure

Sometimes supermarket checkouts have that "cash only" sign... hmmm 🤔
Makes you wonder.

Much the same as Turkish Barbers and some nail salons. 🤔

More fiddlers than the Philharmonic!

MissAdventure

I can think of few things more soul destroying than taking on the role of tax monitoring.

It was bad enough as a real job, let alone on a voluntary basis.

I wonder if everyone got that 😂

MissAdventure

More fiddlers than the Philharmonic!

They must be bored out of their minds just standing there all day looking at their phones.

I don't know anyone like this and I would be too dim to try and fiddle my tax. I don't understand half of it as it is. I'd never want HMRC or any official body thinking I was a crook!

Homestead62

I don't know anyone like this and I would be too dim to try and fiddle my tax. I don't understand half of it as it is. I'd never want HMRC or any official body thinking I was a crook!

Of course, HMRC are not always right themselves and, as one Tax Officer confessed to us, the left hand doesn't always know what the right hand's doing.

Perhaps the most dubious places are the American Candy Stores that are appearing all over the country. Apart from charging very high prices for sweets like Hershey bars, they have been exposed a front for money laundering and organised crime. This is far worse than a plumber not declaeing £100.

petra

MissAdventure

Sometimes supermarket checkouts have that "cash only" sign... hmmm 🤔
Makes you wonder.

Much the same as Turkish Barbers and some nail salons. 🤔

We have four Turkish Barbers in my road along with three Chinese/Vietnamese nail salons, all cash only…

Sounds as though they should be investigated.

Barleyfields

Sounds as though they should be investigated.

Do you report such businesses in your area?

I’m not aware of any cash only businesses in my area, but if I came across one I would report it. I’m sure you are aware that such businesses are well known for money laundering, tax evasion and employing people who have no right to live and work in the UK.

I don’t think anybody in authority would be interested if you reported a business for asking for cash only unless you had some specific evidence to prove that they were not paying tax, or that it was a cover for other dealings Barleyfield.