Help! Tax Evasion

antrobus

dburford9 wrote: »

Do HM Revenue and Customs actively look for people avoiding tax?

Yup. Whether they're any good at it is another question.

Swiftkidd wrote: »

Mind if I ask, What do you personally gain by selling your own neighbour out just curious. Generally speaking I'd say it's none of your business and you should concentrate living your own life .

Dunno. What does anybody personally gain from reporting criminal acts to the authorities? Why do people who are witnesses to sundry acts of theft and violence agree to give statements to the police and testify in court? Aren't they alll just grassing up their neighbours and shouldn't they all just mind their own business and get on with their lives.

Mind you, perhaps there are some people who just posses some degree of social responsibility.

DCodd

It is not unusual for tradesmen to be paid by cash (especially in the domestic sector), it is also not illegal to be paid by cash, so how do you know that your neighbour is involved with tax evasion?

tyllwyd

Theres a plumbers anmesty at the moment
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1361902/Plumbers-offered-amnesty-HMRC-attempt-claw-unpaid-income-tax.html

browneyedbazzi

HMRC do actively look for tradespeople who aren't paying tax. Most areas have a 'Hidden Economy Team' that do operations and investigate those suspected of hiding income to evade tax. They do some pro-active work going out looking for people (including doing things like vehicle stop checks at builders' merchants and the like) but also act in response to information and tips supplied by the public and other agencies.

There has also been a big improvement recently in information sharing/joint working between HMRC and other authorities...although that is a work in progress and I doubt there will ever be a perfect system

tillycat123

browneyedbazzi wrote: »

HMRC do actively look for tradespeople who aren't paying tax. Most areas have a 'Hidden Economy Team' that do operations and investigate those suspected of hiding income to evade tax. They do some pro-active work going out looking for people (including doing things like vehicle stop checks at builders' merchants and the like) but also act in response to information and tips supplied by the public and other agencies.

There has also been a big improvement recently in information sharing/joint working between HMRC and other authorities...although that is a work in progress and I doubt there will ever be a perfect system

Oohh, I would like that job very much. Any job as well where I could go up to the low life hanging around the weatherspoons at 10am in the morning with a pint in their hands and the 10 kids hanging off their arms. Not sure what I would say to them mind!

System

Swiftkidd wrote: »

Mind if I ask, What do you personally gain by selling your own neighbour out just curious. Generally speaking I'd say it's none of your business and you should concentrate living your own life .

Sorry? Your comments had nothing to do with my questions.

So you think its ok for people to avoid tax and the rest of has have to pay? seriously! makes me think you must be one of these tax evaders.

Tax evasion is everyones business as the money goes towards benefitting the country.

Pennywise

Fair enough to report "suspicions", but please don't try to be judge, jury and executioner. You just don't know enough of the circumstances to know for certain the tax evasion is taking place. All you can do is report your suspicions and then walk away and get on with your life.

It's quite common for people to "big themselves up" when talking to their mates in the pub and tell them they're evading tax when the reality is that they're declaring every penny. It's just pub talk, in the same way they exaggerate their sex lives.

Also, another quite common thing is for tradespeople to let the customer think they're getting a good deal by offering "cash" terms with a wink to make them think they're getting a good deal, so the guy gets the work. But the reality is that again it's all being declared properly. It's no different to the bigger firms that offer "vat free" sales etc - complete rubbish - they're still declaring the VAT properly but the customer sees it as a better deal for some unfathomable reason than saying "20% off".

So like I say, report your suspicions by all means, but there's no point frothing about it or curtain-twitching waiting for the black maria!