AIBU to be so sick of tradespeople/ cleaners asking for cash in hand?

When did you last use the NHS or get your bins emptied?

Of course there is no way of knowing on a case by case basis, but starting from the POV of assuming guilt is - to me - not right.

I'm going to be the odd one out here and say that I don't really care... I know quite a few people who are happy to accept a little bit of cash in hand money. It's quite a poor area around me, and people do what they need to to pay their bills.

I'm getting a private hire taxi to the airport next week, and being picked up the week after. I'm paying the guy who does it in cash.

No it means his business is turning over 90k before any costs are considered - his income will be nowhere near that and like you he will not have any employed benefits.
Are you sure he wasn’t suggesting you pay direct for materials (which will be cash/transfer if you lack a trade account) rather than paying him personally in cash? I’ve known tradies say they simply can’t take a piece of work because it tips them over the threshold and the additional costs incurred wipe out the value of the work or offer to do the work but after date X as they are too close to the threshold. The VAT threshold is pretty low for sole traders considering the rising costs of materials/insurance etc.

For a weekly cleaner/gardener etc just asking for cash payments I’d say no but for tradies doing specific jobs involving qualified skills and materials I’d check first to find out what the issue was.

Would you really report a low paid female cleaner on about £22k a year?

Nope. I'm not into kicking people on barely minimum wage, but you crack on

So you want to get rid of cash?

Believe me that does happen with planning applications. It’s amazing how many people think the planning system is straight in this country 😆

The problem is the consequences of tax dodging are far reaching and there’s no way to tell whether those asking for cash are involved in it or not.

How cringe to ask! It’s like asking a planning officer if he’ll give you planning permission if you give him an envelope full of cash. That someone thinks THAT badly of him!

This is how so many self employed men can get away with paying child maintenance because they are not declaring their true income .

Yep. I commented on this somewhere upthread. My SiL split from her ex recently. He’s self employed and was paying her a pathetic amount of voluntary child maintenance so she went through CMS. She ended up worse off because the payments are based on declared wages and he’s declaring far less than we know to be the case. I wouldn't pay cash in hand for anything, having seen the consequences first hand.

And when your partner has a heart attack and you call for an ambulance and no one comes in time? That’s karma.

You can do both. Report the cleaner AND stop buying from Amazon. Think how much better public services could be then!

I'm child free. We don't all think like you.

Dp is self employed and often gets asked if he’d do cheaper for cash. Erm no as regardless of tax evasion etc, we need the money in the bank to pay the bills.

As pp have mentioned, it's demonstrably unfair to assume that anyone asking for cash is trying to dodge tax/CMS/whatever.

When people do it to avoid paying, it's wrong, unlawful and should not be supported.

However, it's wrong to say that everyone who wants to be paid in cash is up to something nefarious. Both me and DH are self-employed. My work is always paid by bank transfer. Around 80% of DH's work is paid the same way. However, every, say, 1 in 5 jobs, he asks if cash is an option as we sometimes use it for paying farm services//other trades/tips/similar. It can still be handy to have a bit of cash!

Let's not tar all self-employed people with this.

Mine takes bank transfer but you have to add 50p!

I much prefer card or bank transfer.

It goes straight into my accounting software. Cash is a pain. I have to find somewhere to deposit it and do manual reconciliations.

Not banking is not an option. I need to pay my suppliers electronically and as I'm still FCA registered I need to be squeaky clean.

So when you need a doctor, dentist, nurse, bus driver or rely on literally anyone else in the country, you think they shouldn't have had education or healthcare all their lives?

what do these anti-tax people think the money for public services come from? NHS, education, social care etc - are they just so selfish that they're happy for the rest of us to pay for all that while they count their piles of money?

Yes its very selfish for people like me who are child free to be paying for your subs and handouts and facilities for your kids - facilities which we do not want and cannot use. 22% of my council tax goes on children's services and I begrudge every penny of it.

Brightens up a thread every now and then.

Yep. More commonly known as eau de shitstirrer !!

I'm detecting cinnamon and vanilla-notes of ragebait, mixed with smoked oak

or perhaps its coming from that raging fire in your candy store that never has customers

There are more reasons for going by the book than paying cash. The country’s in a mess. Everyone should be paying their way, regardless of whether they agree with how it’s being spent.