To employ an established painter / decorator to paint my new house without being called a racist?

[Hiptrip]

I’ve just moved into a new house and mentioned to a neighbour that I am having some cosmetic decorating work inside.

The next day there was a knock at the door, and I found a man there wanting to give me a quote for the job. I’ve already promised the work to someone so I refused him. He got quite aggressive but left when I threatened to call the police.

I’ve been to the neighbour and asked her politely not to send her friends and family over to pitch for work, unless they have references and declare their earnings. She’s not British born nor was the person who she sent. They’ve not been living in the UK long, and she called me a racist.

I want to employ local tradesmen and women with a good reputation, and am happy to pay them properly to work for me. I’m not interested in anyone who wants to undercut them and take cash only, no matter how good they claim to be.

You could simply have asked your neighbour not to send unsolicited tradespeople to you.
He should not have behaved aggressively when the work was refused.
I don't see why you had to bring ethnicity into it at all.

There is always a discount for cash. Customers ask if the price can be bettered if they pay cash. If a company is not VAT registered it is the norm.

DH has lost business because he is VAT registered and so priced out by the cash in handers.

Paying by cash may mean the money won't be going through the books but it isn't a given. When negotiating a discount in the high street store Goldsmiths, my mother was told she could pay the price she wanted to if she paid cash. I imagine a retailer like Goldsmiths, at least at store level, would put everything through the books.

What I like about your OP is unlike so many others of the 'look at the virtuous citizen I am' genre, who want to lord their morality over others, is that you're not even attempting to be inconspicuous about it.

"This town shall henceforth be serviced by local tradesmen for local people!"

The op isn't the one confusing ethnicity and tax dodging. It's her neighbour who called her racist and therefore relevant to the tale.

Paying by cash may mean the money won't be going through the books but it isn't a given. When negotiating a discount in the high street store Goldsmiths, my mother was told she could pay the price she wanted to if she paid cash. I imagine a retailer like Goldsmiths, at least at store level, would put everything through the books

What Goldsmiths did is a marketing ploy to make your grandmother think she was getting a bargain. It makes no difference to a legitimate business if services are paid in cash. In my particular business we don't accept any cash payments.

Businesses accepting cash payments also run the risk, even if they declare every penny, that they are facilitating money laundering.

What Goldsmiths did is a marketing ploy

Yes and this is what many small businesses are doing when the are asked to provide a cash price. They know full well that customers will ask for it and expect it so the initial price includes a factor for discounting.

Businesses accepting cash payments also run the risk, even if they declare every penny, that they are facilitating money laundering

That depends on the quantities and the nature of the business. I'd agree its much tighter than it was even 5-10 years ago and more business will take bank transfers but in the building/materials trades its still very common for suppliers to demand cash due to the unreliability of many smaller business.

Even with an account yards will often demand payment in cash for the first X months.

What I like about your OP is unlike so many others of the 'look at the virtuous citizen I am' genre, who want to lord their morality over others, is that you're not even attempting to be inconspicuous about it

Lol. Damned with the faintest of praise. 😆

Saves transaction charges. Bank charges. Having cash is handy for petty cash. Banks do charge for cheques, BACS etc for businesses

All true, but still a pretty small part of your overheads for a given job.
It's possible this painter had some other reason for wanting cash, but that's not the point. People are accusing the OP for racism for assuming he was dodging tax- that is daft.

I don't see why you had to bring ethnicity into it at all.

I assume the OP mentions country of origin (she doesn't mention ethnicity at all) because in the next sentence she talks about the neighbour accusing her of being racist. The OP would make little sense without this context.

That's a very fair post donquixote

Thankyou. Or should I say sorry for breaking AIBU rules? Traditionally I should have advised the OP to call 101 and bloke the neighbour's car in.

I’ve been to the neighbour and asked her politely not to send her friends and family over to pitch for work, unless they have references and declare their earnings.

Well even if they did, it's completely inappropriate to send them round unsolicited.