Tax Evasion - should I report family members?

[MixedCouple]

I'm really torn - 2 family members are Taxi drivers self employed and admit to Tax evading - boast about it aswell. They both own villas abroad masses of wealth in other countries and land etc. But in the UK they act poor and they even have a Mortgage even though both have houses more expensive abroad. They also take large amounts of money abroad without declaring it. No trace no bank transfers. All the cash they make while taxing.

Every time they boast about it I tell them off and say one day they will get caught - others have to not just me.
When I pluck up the courage to do it I get super guilty.

Should I bite the bullet

Are they registered? In London??
@MixedCouple

No obviously not. They're family for one. Who grasses up family?

Unless they're rolling in it and not paying for their kids, then I'd step in.

HMRC have so few staff doing investigation work that the chances are it won't be investigated due to closing so many offices down, this used to be done locally but now is done in what can only be called factories. It is very hard to prove in industries that deal in cash.

Why would you do such a nasty thing? And to family to boot?

Taxes aren't set by how many people pay or don't pay. If not one single person evaded a penny of taxes, the bill wouldn't go down. So it doesn't really effect any of us personally. It's a semi-victimless crime.

Ummm that's not what I am trying to to. Ihave advised them they know they are breaking the law. And as a law abiding citizen I can't stomach knowong a crime such as this is going on. I'll report it and leave HMRC to deal with it. Then no longer my issue

Oh no they are far from London 4 hours away drive maybe.

We heard of someone being reported for owning properties abroad and they were investigated. Just on word alone....

Still the law of the land. We agree or don't agree. Hence why it's a criminal offence.
Not declaring is no easy matter.
Family or not - would you protect a criminal in your family e.g who used a disable badge when not needed? Drunk driving every weekend? Selling drugs? Claming benefits they are not entitled to?

Where is your moral compass?

My moral compass is simple:

I'd report immediately when they're a danger to others, eg drunk driving. Where it's more of a grey area or they're not an immediate danger, eg selling weed, I'd try patiently to get them to stop but eventually report.
Where it's a victimless crime, or where the 'victim' is the state, especially if it's relatively low level, I might let them know I don't condone it, but I'd never report.

IME it's far shittier to report a family member for say misusing a disabled badge or not reporting every penny, than it is to commit those offences in the first place. You show yourself up to be a much worse human being by reporting. (That is because the offender at least gets something out of their offence, which is why they commit it. But the snitch is just being the worst kind of human being without gaining anything other than self-righteous, sadistic pleasure.)

Thank you for the big fat assumption.

I get no "pleasure" from this. Just to rid myself of this guilty and huge burdon that makes me anxious. I feel like a criminal for knowing. So No it doesn't bring me Joy. Amd by reporting they will just have to pay the correct tax that is due like the rest of us and they have the funds to cover any fines.

I have reported it - given all the exact details of each member here and abroad i also hace photographic evidence if that ia needed. They state they may be in contact if more info is needed.
Now I feel lighter and not anxious at all. I feel likw I'm not part of this huge illegal secret anymore.

Yes if you want to be a c*! It's your family ffs!

I would never ever do this. What will you say when they ask if it was you?

My moral compass for stuff like this is "will it make the world better?"

Reporting drunk driving, absolutely. Reporting drug dealing, absolutely. Reporting tax evasion? Eh, not so much, especially with how much some in government have abused certain allowances.

Report them if you must but imo unless they're hoarding millions then nah, not something I'd rush to report.

Christ I would never do this in a million years unless it was someone I actively despised for something else.

Wow. You sound awful. If this is real.

For tax evasion to be investigated there is a very high threshold & taxi driving is very hard to check up on, yes the fares they take from base or through the app are recordable but such a lot of the business is difficult. If they do fares by being flagged down or get paid in cash, don't forget they often get tips in cash, if they do say 50 fares a day & get tipped £5 or more for 50% of those fares it soon mounts up. If they have a good accountant they will be able to write off a good amount of what they earn, they have high overheads like depreciation of their cars, insurance, licencing, fuel, maintenance, paying for their radio etc.

This.

I have several friends whose husbands are taxi drivers and they can't afford a house anywhere. Can you let us all know which bit of the country is so lucrative, and I know people who will relocate AND pay taxes!

@Goandplay Completely the wrong attitude.

Yes, report anyone you suspect of comiting a crime.

I worked in HMRC investigations & what often is the case is that the investigation can sometimes cost more than the amount recovered & that is before the cuts in staff. It was different when tax offices were open in the area the investigation was being done in because the investigating officers had local knowledge, it isn't just the case of bringing someone in & saying that you have found out they are fiddling, lots of things have to be done well before that. Tax returns & accounts have to be checked, their information has to be gone through, the biggest returns on investigations used to be when there was a big investigation on one occupation, all the files for taxi drivers would be checked for example so that there could be patterns noted, I know that with computer modelling some of the leg work is taken out but there is still a lot of manpower in taking up an investigation.

No. Mind your own business.

Charitably, I think at best you’re naive to believe taxi drivers make that much money and have villas abroad like they’re some kind of bloody Wolf of Regent Street cashing in The Knowledge to live it large.

It is their business, Tax evasion is stealing from everyone isn't it.

Everyone loses out. Tax is the countries money, it belongs to the all the people in it.

It pays for your roads and schools and hospitals.

They will see this and know it's you.

I once was waiting for someone outside Sheffield train station, black cab drivers were openly selling drugs.

Might some of the wealth come from this?

Is it against the guidelines for me to say I think op is a bit of a -