willman Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Agreed . Self employed tradesmen have always done a few jobs for cash in hand ,rather than put it through the books as it keeps the tax bill down a little. This has always happened and always will. Customers are happy as they get the job done cheaper ,as there is no VAT on the bill , and the tradesman gets a few quid for himself rather than giving it the taxman. this dosnt mean the quality of the work isnt up to scratch , just they are getting a cheaper job . Everyone`s a winner. But is it right - how about an unemployed plasterer or carpenter getting JSA and doing fiddle. Just as compotent, job just as cheap as a self employed fiddle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LardyBoy Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 But is it right - how about an unemployed plasterer or carpenter getting JSA and doing fiddle. Just as compotent, job just as cheap as a self employed fiddle. There we have a seperate issue , thats a debate about the rights and wrongs of fiddling the benifits system. As for tradesmen doing a few cash jobs to keep their tax bill down a little , i have no problem wiith that . Its always happened , and i will admit to having a few jobs done like this over the years . I have used local tradesmen i know ,tradesmen who are reputable companies , and they have done me a cash job ,but to the same quality as any job which they would declare through the books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sues_budgie Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 If you could do cash in hand work, would you without any doubt declare every penny you earned? If a tradesman offered me a discount for 'cash in hand', I'd give him/her the money. Better the tradesman has the money to spend, than declaring it in tax so money can be wasted on foregn aid/quango etc.... The person doing some extra work for cash is probably doing it out of necesity. ALternatively, they could sit on their bottoms and let the state keep them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxman Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 All the employer has to do its make the workers self employed. this way is the staff reponsabilty to declare any earning Wrong. An employer cannot make their employees self-employed. HMRC doesn't like it. It is not a matter of choice as to whether someone is self employed or employed - it depends on the terms and conditions under which they are engaged. If we believe that someone being treated as Self employed should correctly have been treated as an employee we will pursue the employer for the shortfall in tax and National Insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selphie Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 What about an out of work electrician, who spends every day at the job centre, trawling through agencies and newspapers. Basically doing everything he can to find a job but with no luck. Along comes Joe Bloggs and offers him £100 to wire some lights up or something similar? I'd be happy to help this chap along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LardyBoy Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 What about an out of work electrician, who spends every day at the job centre, trawling through agencies and newspapers. Basically doing everything he can to find a job but with no luck. Along comes Joe Bloggs and offers him £100 to wire some lights up or something similar? I'd be happy to help this chap along. Yep , me too . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattricia Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 When it comes to tax, working people are being squeezed like a pair of testicles in a vice. Its painful and is also eyewatering. Petrol is up, council tax is up, VAT is up, insurances are up, rents are up, fuel bills are up, but wages are not going up and in some cases are coming down in real terms. Will people soon be forced into setting up little businesses doing 'cash in hand work' simply to make ends meet/pay the bills. Is it morally wrong to do this, or should the working person continue to try to make ends meet, even if the ends are now struggling to meet. There will of course be the argument that 'cash in hand'businesses will undermine legitimate businesses and so can see why not all would see this as the way forward. I thought fiddle work was the norm for MPs fiddling their expenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxman Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I thought fiddle work was the norm for MPs fiddling their expenses. ...and paedophile priests! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retired Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 As for tradesmen fiddleing there tax well it can happen but not to a large degree. He will have the usual direct debits like mortgage, council tax, utilities etc. He will also have to have money to live on like food and transport. All this is going to come out of his bank account so he has to put money in so it is there for when it comes out. What you don't do is bank money that has not been declared. This is hidden under the floor boards. The tax man is very clever at tracing your cash flow so most of your living expenses have to be declared. Besides, if you didn't declare most of your living then your yearly earnings would be low and so would your tax bill. This might sound god except for when you need a mortgage or car loan. Earn nothing and you can only borrow nothing. So it is advantages to at least declare a living and keep your tax inspector off your back. As for paying cash for a discount well the customer has a benefit there. But the rules of giving a discount for cash is you do not issue an invoice or bill. That's usually part of the deal. This is where many a customer comes unstuck. They cannot get the tradesman to come back when things go wrong and you cannot sue a tradesman who does not exist. No invoice = no job done in the first place. We have all heard of the builders from hell but for me some customers let themselves fall into a trap on the pretense of saving cash. I have been stung myself with cash merchants and now it's a full invoice with vat if applicable and if possible payment by cheque. The days of discount for cash are over for me, fell for that one once to often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halibut Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 If you could do cash in hand work, would you without any doubt declare every penny you earned? If a tradesman offered me a discount for 'cash in hand', I'd give him/her the money. Better the tradesman has the money to spend, than declaring it in tax so money can be wasted on foregn aid/quango etc.... The person doing some extra work for cash is probably doing it out of necesity. ALternatively, they could sit on their bottoms and let the state keep them Or to look at it another way, paying for terminal care for cancer victims, paying the wages of our doctors and nurses and our forces getting blown to pieces while some selfish git cheats the system. Out of necessity? Yeah, I bet you say that about muggers too do you? They're cheats as much the laziest benefit scrounger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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