cash in hand payments are morally wrong?

[violathing]

Have you ever taken adv of a discount for cash to get something cheaper?

are you from the wright show?

no, I pay cash for ease -hate paying by cheque because of the uncertainty of when it will be banked, and how else would you pay a tradesman -they don't tend to take credit cards

working in retail I often get asked by people if we will discount for cash -err no because cash is much more hassle than a card payment!

I've often paid cash but always get a VAT receipt when someone is VAT registered.

Having had a few trees cut down by people touting for business door to door who don't give out VAT receipts, I probably have.

How do you suggest we pay builders, plumbers etc? I might be wrong but I'm sure cheques are being phased out and you can't use them after 2015. I can't remember where I read it though.

We're about to have our roof replaced and we're paying by cheque. But if we couldn't we'd probably have to pay in cash. If the builder decides not to declare it(he does) then it's not our fault.

Even if the builder takes cash for payment, they should still provide you with a receipt that itemises VAT. That's your guarantee. If they just repaired the roof, took the cash, didn't charge the VAT and didn't give you a receipt either you'd have no comebacks

Paying cash in hand is not the same as just paying in cash - it implies the tradesman is avoiding taxes. Paying cash is fine as long as you get a proper receipt. If the tradesman is vat registered then legally they must give you a vat receipt.

X-post

Yes several times. Sometimes for small jobs that need done asap its the only way to get someone out. When they start tackling tax avoidance at the top then I think people will be more likely to do so at the bottom. Typical tories trying to blacken the working classes

He probably does give a receipt. I don't really know as I let DH deal with it unless he's away at work.

Moral relativism is rarely appropriate and the argument 'they do it so why can't I?' is a non-starter. HMRC etc are going after the big avoidance schemes already. The comment today was to urge the rest of us to take personal responsibility rather than saving a few bucks.

I am not saying that I am saying start at the top where the revenue will be greater rather than always blaming the lower paid workers. I pay all my builders cash and the majority declare it

My boiler needed repairing a month or two back and the only way the engineer would fix it quicky is if I paid cash. Got a hand written kind of receipt but he wasn't Vat registered. I have no problem really paying cash and alot of people don't have a cheque book.

I had this conversation with builder who came round to quote for a small job last week. He said if I paid cash it would be cheaper. I said to him I'll pay what he charges me for the service and it's up to him to pay his taxes. He looked sheepish and said, 'well I will put some of it through'. I don't see why it's our responsibility to police other people's tax arrangements.

However, having read upthread about having no comeback I think I'll make sure I get proper paperwork on any work done.

"start at the top where the revenue will be greater "

There's no guarantee of that. HMRC may close down some big tax avoidance schemes and recover sevarl million. The fraud teams might successfully prosecute some individual for tax evasion and recover several more million. But the petty £50 here and £100 there that goes missing when a slightly bent tradesmen offers a 'discount for cash' and doesn't put it through the books is a) almost impossible to police and b) amounts to many millions each and every year.

Honesty is its own reward, yes?

The last time I looked cash is a legal tender.

Exactly what went through my mind CrackFox.

It's not paying with cash that's the problem, it's the tradesperson not putting the cash payment through the books where they have to declare it either as income or for VAT. A cheque has to be banked and transfers appear on statements so it's traceable. Cash can be trousered, no questions asked, no paper trail. If you're offered a 'discount for cash', especially if you get a dodgy handwritten 'receipt', then the implication is that you're assisting in tax fraud.

I think this is a problem that is only going to get worse as more people shelve principles simply to make ends meet. If, for example, your car goes wrong and you have no spare money to pay for it, people will naturally go for the cheapest option. The alternative is ever-increasing debt to pay a bill that some people see as legalised theft in the first place. A thriving black economy is emerging as a result of the economy and it's only going to get bigger.

To some extent, I understand (though don't condone) it. People are suffering due to austerity measures, and when they see the massive tax avoidance at the top and the joke that is MP expenses, it's not too hard to see how people are able to morally justify it. It's human nature and has been a means of survival since taxation was first implemented.

It is the person being paid responsibility to pay tax. It is not my problem. I have enough on my plate without fretting that my teenage babysitter will pay tax on the £20 I gave her.

To small businesses cash is vital especially now when lending is so limited. For businesses that need to pay out for materials to get a job moving, ready cash can mean the difference between getting a project started or potentially losing it.

If a tradesman choses to not pay his taxes it is entirely up to him, it is not the consumers responsibility to ensure he does it.

I would love to know how many MPs have paid for things in cash though.

" it is not the consumers responsibility to ensure he does it."

It is not the consumers' responsibility but none of us were born yesterday. We all know that sideways shifty 'look' when the offer is made to dock a bit off the bill if we hand over cash and we all know what it means.

Tbh I paid by credit card to buy a top from Dirothy Perkins the other week. I wonder if Sir Phillip Green's wife paid the tax she morally should?

Cognito, I think I can genuinely, hand on heart say that I have never been given that look!

I hear what you are saying but it is still their responsibility.

sometimes people want cash because the person paying may give them a dodgy cheque which could bounce so I think that is why people like cash. also it may cost more to process a cheque.

I am sure some of them don't put it through the books. A student I used to work with whose parents had their own business always seemed to have loads of cash.

they don't carry around a machine so you can pay by switch.

also I sometimes do market research and am paid by cash. i wouldn't want that to change.