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

Bonbon

colthecodman wrote: »

as long as i knew the guy its cash every time for me the tax evasion bit is not my problem

I absolutely agree with you colthecodman. I always ask 'what's your cash price'

prowla

lizzybear wrote: »

No. My dad owns a small business and I see how much he has to pay in VAT alone each year so I don't think it's right when people try to get away with not paying it. I also can't help thinking that the reason such taxes are so high is partly because of those evading them.

Your dad doesn't have to pay the VAT - he charges it to the customer, then deducts the VAT he has paid on his purchases for the business, and then pays the balance to the taxman.
He is not paying the taxman, he is simply passing on what he has collected on the taxman's behalf.

trejoy

Well,well,well, surprised at answers. I would go elsewhere to a reputable business. I son`t deal with shysters and I always get a proof of payment.
My bro is a plumber, he did work for me, through the business, it was cheap as he didn`t charge for labour, not because he dodges tax.
Word to wise, only pay for materials as they arrive, then pay enough for wages weekly, full amount on satisfactory completion of job - all reputable builders and tradesmen will do this.:D

oldgreymare

If you know the bloke or where he lives and you can get something in writing as to your payment and work done then I don't see much wrong in paying cash. After all this government takes us to the cleaners for everything we do and a lot of it is very unfair. A case of I scratch your back etc. but it works in real life and that is what counts. The difference is when megabucks are being made amd we are being s

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d on from high. We all have to make a living whatever our means.:beer:

liseylee

Firstly someone said Brian couldn't claim back for the purchases he had made, well thats incorrect if Brian made inputs and had invoices for these he could claim the VAT back without prooving what he used it for as if he's paid VAT he's due it back. Thats what being VAT registered is all about. I presume he didn't voluntary register for VAT as he doesn't seem keen on it so remember this man must have a turnover of anything from 70k or more. He is doing well for himself. Don't help him.

If he is doing jobs and not paying VAT he would have to be very careful and make sure he had a good set of books otherwise if he had a VAT visit and his books were inspected then he might well get caught as his inputs and outputs and the tax applicable to these would be compared and if he bought a lot of stock and didn't seem to have done the jobs to use them it would make people suspicious. A lot of other comparrisons and checks would also trip up the most sneaky person.

People complain about paying taxes and the government but these conmen cost millions in lost revenue and as someone said we the people end up paying higher taxes for it whilst they enjoy there nice lifestyles.

dbfisokay

Clearly, to give Brian the Builder £1,200in cash knowing full well that he “needn't do any paper work, if you know what I mean?" is to conspire with him in the non payment of VAT – a criminal act. That is not debatable and if one is willing accept the consequences of the act if caught then by all means do it. If not-don’t.

The seduction here is the £300 pounds in savings (or 20%) discount which is tempting, especially in the current climate. The snag is; if the workmanship is poor and the path begins to break up there is scope for a messy outcome. Together with no paperwork, your act of criminality leaves you vulnerable to being out of pocket for a defective product with no legal grounds for recourse and potential for criminal prosecution. The question is; Is £300 a good deal for being in such a position? Intuitively it is not. Therefore morally it is wise to pay the normal price. Sadly, financial seduction is often as effective as the other more common form of seduction; hence many will pay the non-VAT price.

steve6375

Personally, if I was happy about the builder and standard of work, I would have no qualms. It is up to him to pay VAT and nothing to do with me.
I would ask for a receipt and guarantee. If there was any issue with the work then I would be in a strong position to get him to fix it. I would say 'I paid cash and I have a written guarantee - if you don't fix it I will complain to Trading Standards.' As he is registered for VAT but may not be paying all his VAT on his profit, he would not want to be mentioned to the authorities at any cost. I would effectively have him over a barrel and he would have to fix it...

neilharvey

I'd only ever use a builder I already knew and not Joe Blogs who comes knocking on my door, but yes I would pay in cash. Why should I subsidise public sector private pensions when I'm struggling to pay into mine as well as pay my mortgage, higher utilities bills and everything else. If this government could practise what they preached then maybe I'd consider doing everthing by the book, but when they're so quick to take money from my pocket, why shouldn't I return the favour once in a while.
Maybe we should all take a page from the french mans book and when we don't like something simply hold the government and every other nation to ransom by holding their citizens in this country, oh no hold up a minute, we'd all be prosecuted for that coz we're ENGLISH, but hey it's ok when the french do it to us and hold us all prisoner from getting out the country when THEY want to blockade it ! ! !

moochershopper

:A I would definately pay cash. As has been said before this government takes too much of our hard earned cash and wastes it, why give them any more to use on useless and ill thought out projects.

brucie24

liseylee wrote: »

I presume he didn't voluntary register for VAT as he doesn't seem keen on it so remember this man must have a turnover of anything from 70k or more. He is doing well for himself.....

.......People complain about paying taxes and the government but these conmen cost millions in lost revenue and as someone said we the people end up paying higher taxes for it whilst they enjoy there nice lifestyles.

Quite some assumptions here! How does having a turnover of 70K translate into "doing well for himself" and "enjoy their nice lifestyles"????

Turnover is NOT profit! Once you take out materials and overheads there would not be a great deal over to support those comments!

As for paying/not paying tax - tax evasion is as old as tax itself. Just because big corporations can afford to hire an army of lawyers & accountants to do it 'legally' we allow them to get away with it but turn on the individual. As has been pointed out wether the builder chooses to declare all his job's is his perogative, as has also been said if he does it too often he will undoubtably be caught as inputs/outputs will not reconcile.

The argument that this kind of evasion is why taxes are so high is questionable when you consider the amounts just thrown at the financial institutions, not to mention Iraq!!!:mad: