Cash In Hand, Morally Wrong?

[ToraToraTora]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18968679
We all do it but is it an innevitable consequence of our punative tax system or imply morally wrong?

[youngmafbog]

Exactly TTT, I cannot believe there is anyone who has never paid cash. Whilst they may not have agreed a discount for cash it will have been factored in by the tradesman especially on small jobs.

[alavahalf]

"your garage bill is £500, but £400 for cash, ie lose the VAT"

You are ssssoooooooooo gullible TTT ... your mechanic has been ripping you off and I'm not going to tell you what the VAT should be on £400

[hc4361]

TTT, if I pay for a job I expect proper receipts, some sort of warranty and I expect the tradesperson to have proper insurances in place.

I won't pay a dodgy builder for a dodgy job, nor any other sort of worker.

[ToraToraTora]

alavahalf: that was just an arthmetically simple example for the hard of thinking mate.

I might be a bit more keen on paying more tax if they didn't spend it on WSS and already rich foriegn powers.

[hc4361]

TTT, so not only do you accuse me of being a tax dodger, you accuse me of lying as well.

[ToraToraTora]

well hc if you genuinely do not avoid any avoidable tax then you truly are a saint and I apologise unreservedly.

[Gromit]

I have done small jobs and the client has insisted on paying cash in hand. I pay it into my business account and it goes through my books. Also, banks charge business account holders for every cheque they process (is it about 80p?), so someone selling a lot of small items will prefer cash rather that the bank taking 30% in charges. As I said, it is not black and white.

[retrocop]

Once in a blue moon my local has VAT exempt days promoted by some French entrepeneur/financier I believe. Am I aiding and abetting tax avoidance along with my fellow tipplers on these merry occasions?

[brionon]

It must be wonderful to know what we ALL do !

[hc4361]

I pay my barber by debit card and my window cleaner quarterly by cheque made out to his business account.

[jim360]

I'm fairly sure I pay tax on the small amounts of interest I earn in bank accounts. It's small enough that I could claim it back as part of the allowance. I've never got around to sorting that out. Just lazy, really. I expect many people are closer to lazy and/ or not really thinking about tax-dodging, rather than doing it deliberately or not at all.

Don't even think it's about the "punitive" tax system. Given a choice between paying £100 cash or £110 by card, many people would still go for the cash option, and a 10% VAT is hardly punitive. People just want to save money.

[McMouse]

Getting hair cut tomorrow and will pay cash and not get receipt. Beers and sandwiches in pub on Thusday - cash, cab home - cash. What's all the fuss about?

[ToraToraTora]

you pay the window cleaner by cheque hc? PMSL you on the electric yet?

[jno]

since when did money become immoral?

It's not my job to ensure other people pay their tax. If George Osborne can't be bothered taxing Amazon, why should I spend my time demanding to know what a painter does with his money?

[RATTER15]

I have done many many cash jobs, naughty I know, I wont be losing any sleep over it that's for sure!

[Gromit]

I have a friend who is a taxi driver. His cab got hit just before one christmas and was off the road during his busiest fortnight. I knew he was fully insured but he was moaning bitterly. So I enquired "You will get paid from the insurance without you having to work like a horse, why are you moaning?"
The reason was he will get paid the amount that he declares, not what he actually makes (and the difference was substantial).

[ToraToraTora]

I pay cash pretty well for eveyrthing if I'm there in person and everything else is automatic. Can't remember the last cheque I wrote, I thought the banks were getting rid of them. I did receive a cheque for something about 2 years ago, what a palaver that was, I had to go to this place called a "branch" and wait in line to give the "cheque" to some spotty herbert behind some glass, is that what hc's window cleaner has to do?

[Gromit]

Tora - don't you work for a bank?

[Retrochic]

Oh this is the ideal thread for the pompous 'I would never ever ever do that' brigade. We have a large building firm and mainly get paid by direct transfer or cheque. Occasionally a neighbour or someone next door to a big job we are doing will come around and ask if one of the guys will look at their chimney, guttering or similar little job. The guy will take a look and get a tenner or so in his hand for fixing it -is that morally wrong? - no -its the perks of the job just like a butcher will take meat home from his shop and declare it as shrinkage. Heavens above tradesmen have to pay some tax or the Tax office would be down on them like a ton of bricks. We have lads who pay stamp and Tax but sometimes offer them some overtime cash in hand -they've paid their Tax on their regular wages so for them its a back pocket bonus -bit like Bankers bonus but on a very very smaller scale.