MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Would you pay Brian the Builder in cash?

richytay1

grapage wrote: »

The "Black Economy" every time as far as Im concerned, we all have to help each other and I think this government takes more than enough from all us hard working people on taxes etc and then wastes it on stupid projects and lining their own pockets.
:beer:

It's because of attitudes like this that we all pay so much tax.

Penny_Pincher_37

I've done it before but only with workmen I know and have used before and therefore trust to sort out any problems without paperwork...I'm sure I'll do it again to if offered - perhaps I should but I have no moral issues with doing this at all.

DavyBoy_2

I live in a large village/small town, the kind where you get to know all the right people. The benefit is, I always use local traders where I can, as I've seen the evidence of their handiwork.
If they wanted cash at the end of a job, and I can afford that large lump sum, then for me it's a no-brainer. I'm paying for the work that the labourer has already completed, I trust the work the labourer has done and if there is any problems, that they'll return to fix the problems. What that person does with the cash is not my concern.
If it were, then I'd never tip a waiter/waitress ever again... same idea, different scale of magnitude.
At the end of the day, I am committing no crime by paying cash, and I trust the labourer to have done a good job.

cutiepie

First of all, I would use a builder I knew and preferably one I had used before. I would definitely pay him less for cash. It takes long enough to save up for something and as long as I knew that the builder would rectify any problems that arose in the future I would not feel at all guilty. Like others have said, the taxman wastes so much of our money on lunches and expenses for themselves I dont think we should feel guilty saving a few quid.

tallgirld

I would pay the cash.

The fact that he is possibly tax evading would not bother me AT ALL.

ALL I would be thinking is I am saving myself £300!!!

SELFISH??? YEP :-)

patipoos1

I would have some doubts about paying cash, not because of any moral delemer but because I do not feel you would get a receipt for the work so therefor no gaurantee,

xipetotec46

if he is doing a good job and it will be finished tomoz i'll go for the discount anyday stuff the Inland revenue

pineapple

No I wouldn't report him. But if I didn't know him, I wouldn't agree to a cash in hand job in any case. And that's simply a matter of consumer protection. But there is a tradesman I have used for years and he always gets cash. He claims that he declares it all and if he doesn't it's not my problem. I get a good job at reasonable rates and we are both happy. Little businesses are squeezed enough and so am I. And (to post 22) I actually do see a difference between that and buying knocked off gear. I just wish my own world was so conveniently black and white!

georgemcghie

It is a fact of life that the 'black economy' is alive and kicking in the UK. It really is up to you whether your morals and integrity will allow you to take advantage of it when it comes your way. I recently needed 13 tons of chips for my back garden and was supplied by the builder at £63.00 per ton for cash. It certainly beat the hell out of paying in excess of £116.00 per ton from a builders merchant. But there we go! If I thought my little contribution would make a difference I would reconsider, but unfortunately it is out of control.

JuliaJolie

I wouldn't know whether or not to report him, but I would ask for this sort of information up front. Paying the lower price isn't just a question of integrity - this is being involved in something that is illegal. Why not throw in a drug deal then, too? Once that line is crossed, you may as well forget about any integrity altogether. Coming from someone who always paid their taxes through PAYE, I'm now living abroad and will continue to pay taxes here once I get a work permit and can legally work.

I worked for HM Revenue & Customs for over a year and a half processing self-assessment tax returns and issuing tax codes, and it would p*** me off to no end when I would see the blatant tax dodges - even the legal ones - whether it was from small businesses with turnovers of less than £15,000, or larger partnerships earning millions.

Anarchy has its place, and I'm the first person to complain about something the government is doing wrong (so I fit in quite well here in the US), but sometimes you just end up screwing yourself. I wouldn't want to be involved in these kinds of dodgy goings-on - if this is how the builder does business, what kind of respect do you think he has for the actual work he does?..