Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Would you still pay tax if you could get away with not paying it?

179 replies

Uneasyy · 08/10/2020 18:27

NC for this.

My lovely friend is currently making thousands a week in a cash-in-hand job.

She’s happy, genuinely happy and living her best life. However she dropped into conversation the other day that she got no grants/furlough or anything over lockdown as she’s never put anything through the system.

I didn’t really know how to feel. On one hand it’s none of my business whatsoever, on the other - This situation has made me scared for our economy and future prospects and it’s made me feel uneasy about her as a person.

She said she’d lose thousands through tax and it would be pretty impossible for her to get caught.

So I wonder, if were 100% sure you wouldn’t get caught, would you still choose to pay tax?

AIBU to think that I still would?

OP posts:
LakieLady · 09/10/2020 09:38

Tax avoidance is legal, tax evasion is illegal

Just because something's legal doesn't mean it's right, @Brot64.

Just sayin'.

GarlicMonkey · 09/10/2020 09:40

Yes because HMRC are ruthless if caught. I always do my best, well within the law, to minimise my tax, but wouldn't dare do anything dodgy.

LakieLady · 09/10/2020 09:44

@FudgeBrownie2019, in the two examples I gave, we know because, in the case of the ex-friend, she's my DPs ex and their son tells us, because she brags about it to him and it infuriates him, and in the case of SIL, because she told us herself, before she realised how anti-tax dodging I am.

And I so agree with you about Cummings. DP called him a poisonous puppet-master the other day, which I thought summed him up nicely.

Redwolf1 · 09/10/2020 09:57

I dont know how people have to balls to pay no tax. My dh is self employed, always pays his tax. A few years ago someone offered him a job which was totally different to his work, a completely different field. He earned £500 for 2 days work and got cash, he didnt declare it and god I was anxious for so long about it. It was a one off and like i said years ago now but it was still wrong in my eyes. Such a pitiful amount of it would be paid I tax but I hate being naughty

LakieLady · 09/10/2020 10:02

I don't know the ins and outs of HMRC but surely everyone has a national insurance number and therefore if you are not employed and you don't have a self assessment submitted every year then they will ask the question of how the fuck you support yourself?

They don't have the resources to do this. I think a determined government could make huge inroads into tax evasion though. Even if they just sent a letter to everyone of working age who's not on PAYE and hasn't submitted a self-assessment, telling them to complete a return they'd probably frighten a fair few people into doing it.

But I suspect that the amount of tax unpaid by taxi drivers and cleaners is tiny compared to the amount unpaid by big corporations using loopholes, and even the two people I know of.

The tax consultant puts shedloads of stuff through her business. Some of it's legitimate, because her office is in her house, but a lot of it isn't, like boozy lunches with her mates and a few hundred a month on her taxi account. She put the cost of new living room furniture (from Heals, so thousands!) through the company, the CF.

But the resources it would take for HMRC to go through her accounts and grill her about every single item she's claimed for, every taxi ride, every lunch etc would probably cost more than they would get back.

Mind you, the value of the schadenfreude I would get would be priceless. Grin

ReallyLazy · 09/10/2020 10:07

Yes i would. I benefitted from the tax system when i was younger and unemployed so now am pleased to be able to pay into the pot.

DynamoKev · 09/10/2020 10:25

@LakieLady

Tax avoidance is legal, tax evasion is illegal

Just because something's legal doesn't mean it's right, @Brot64.

Just sayin'.

It's a question of degree though.

An ISA is a long-standing government approved way of avoiding paying tax on savings.

That's not morally wrong, surely?

PegasusReturns · 09/10/2020 10:25

Yes I would and do pay tax because I’m not selfish.

My DC are privately educated, we have private healthcare, I use private security in relation to my property (although unlike some I’m not stupid enough to think that following an RTA or an armed break in I wouldn’t also be heavily reliant on the NHS and the police.)

And even if I was selfish enough to not care about others and to be A-ok with children being forced to live in abusive homes; no justice for rape victims and the elderly left to rot, I can recognise it’s in my best interests to ensure the streets are not turned into open sewers; homes are not left to burn and there is a safety net for those who need one.

BuddyRun · 09/10/2020 10:26

Depends on the tax. VAT - yes, income tax - most of it, council tax - no...

OneForMeToo · 09/10/2020 10:32

Not really. You could be being supported by a live in partner/parents. You could of been a trust fund a baby.

They would have to track your spending to know that you personally had money.

Changethetoner · 09/10/2020 10:35

If you don't declare your earnings, it will surely affect your state pension in years to come. Not a clever thing to do.

CayrolBaaaskin · 09/10/2020 10:45

@Brot64 -I shall ignore @Iamthewombat what childish nonsense. I reported her post for the obvious racism though as it’s totally unacceptable.

Elai1978 · 09/10/2020 10:50

Obviously there’s a huge difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance. Avoidance is just common sense, evasion just makes you a scumbag.

thedancingbear · 09/10/2020 10:52

You're mate's a common criminal OP.

i hope she gets caught.

thedancingbear · 09/10/2020 10:52

And if you had any moral fibre at all, you'd grass her up.

Lochroy · 09/10/2020 10:54

WTF. As a citizen and a taxpayer, it is your business.

I know it wasn't your question but if someone is paying zero I'd report them. No way she isn't benefitting from any public services.

With regards to your question, yes I would pay.

WhatATimeToBeAlive · 09/10/2020 10:54

Yes, and I'm happy to pay more tax in the future to help get our economy out of the mess we're in and will be in for some years. I presume this also means your "friend" won't get a pension either as she's paid no NI.

Heatherjayne1972 · 09/10/2020 10:55

So not worth it
My ex didn’t fill in a tax return for years and did a lot of cash in hand work on the side Got caught and had a mahoosive fine

He got nothing from the government during the pandemic apparently.
And has worked all through doing cash in hand work

Clearly hasn’t learned anything

movpov · 09/10/2020 11:07

Yes I would pay because I and my family benefit from services such as the NHS, police, education and all manner of other things that our taxes pay for. Presumably your friend does too? Her attitude is despicable...and it's only right she did not benefit from any of the support schemes if she's never put anything in to the system. She will get caught at some point and they will throw the book at her.

Karma will get her

movpov · 09/10/2020 11:09

Btw she's not a 'lovely friend' - she's selfish and greedy

unmarkedbythat · 09/10/2020 11:38

I would pay, yes. Your friend is not a good person.

HOkieCOkie · 09/10/2020 11:43

Yes I would pay tax...

hibeat · 09/10/2020 12:18

When you loose your job then you get it back, then it's enough to pay tax, I don't know about the others but this made me proud

Newmumatlast · 09/10/2020 12:32

@LakieLady

If we could get away with it I wouldn't pay a single penny in taxes. Only because we have private medical insurance, we educate our children privately, we employ over 500 people, paid stamp duty on our property and pay an extortionate amount in council tax, we are paying high taxes as it is

Yeah, but you'd still call the police or an ambulance if you needed to, and benefit from the enforcement of things like consumer protection, environmental and safety legislation, and you don't have to step over the bodies of the poor when you step out of your limo, or give scrofulous beggars the swerve when you go our to flash your cash.

Tax monies are used to create a civilised society and everyone benefits from that.

100% this
thedancingbear · 09/10/2020 12:50

If we could get away with it I wouldn't pay a single penny in taxes. Only because we have private medical insurance, we educate our children privately, we employ over 500 people, paid stamp duty on our property and pay an extortionate amount in council tax, we are paying high taxes as it is

Fucking hell, do people this selfish and ignorant really exist?

Swipe left for the next trending thread