Tax dodging builder?

He might have a huge overdraft and he needs to pay his labour, his bank might swallow the funds. He might not like online banking to pay his labour or his labour want it in cash as well.

Lots of reasons but most likely they are avoiding correct tax implications.

Unless you're claiming the vat back or using it within your own accounts as a cost there's little point you having a receipt only really for proving he did the work if it all went wrong.

If you're happy with the work phone your bank, order the cash and pop in and pick it up.
 
200sols said:
True that, but most wont class £4k as minor work.
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Yeah if he was a jobbing gardener working just under his own name and it was a £300 job I'd have paid him cash in hand with zero hesitation. He's a bigger operation (said he had a much bigger job just round the corner at the same time - call mine £4k, that one probably at least double and he did that in a week so he's earnt at least £12k for the week, so reasonable estimate he could be turning over >£300k a year. Should be paying his tax. Anyway I've paid him now, as there's little to be done. Just left a nasty taste in my mouth, we turned down other companies who quoted a similar price to him but with VAT on top which made them more expensive, he just said VAT was all included but clearly he's not paying it.
 
Chris344 said:
Just give him the cash.

Whether he pays tax or not is quite frankly, none of your business, it’s his.
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I sometimes wonder where people set the bar at dodging tax?
. . . or paying fares
. . . or allegedly victimless criminal behaviour in general

Stll, it is after all, none of my business.
 
dl8860 said:
Yeah if he was a jobbing gardener working just under his own name and it was a £300 job I'd have paid him cash in hand with zero hesitation. He's a bigger operation (said he had a much bigger job just round the corner at the same time - call mine £4k, that one probably at least double and he did that in a week so he's earnt at least £12k for the week, so reasonable estimate he could be turning over >£300k a year. Should be paying his tax. Anyway I've paid him now, as there's little to be done. Just left a nasty taste in my mouth, we turned down other companies who quoted a similar price to him but with VAT on top which made them more expensive, he just said VAT was all included but clearly he's not paying it.
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If VAT is included he needs to have given you a VAT invoice, no ifs or buts. He's blatantly evading VAT, which double costs you. One for paying VAT which highly likely isn't getting paid on to the government and secondly due to the increased cost to all taxpayers due to this hidden economy, which just so happens to be the biggest loss to HMRC rather than the likes of Amazon or Google.
 
Been in the trade long enough to say any builder or decorator or plumber or electrician or mechanic even that deals in cash is a tax scammer. Thats a guarantee.
 
The guy sounds like an absolute muppet. Had similar issues with an electrician I had to call out when renting, it was pretty clear when I called him out that I was a Tennant, I needed an invoice in order to reclaim the cost from my landlord. He did an initial repair and then came back to finish it, wanted cash in hand etc.. and was being evasive re: the invoice. It actually got quite heated when I insisted on an invoice, I'm not sure if it was just because of tax or also because he had potentially made a dubious repair too.
 
I wouldn't pay anyone 4k in cash for two reasons one I believe everyone should pay taxes I bet you him and his employees don't think twice about popping to a&e and secondly because I wouldn't feel safe walking around with that sort of money!
 
People's "I don't care" attitude towards tax evasion both disgusts me and boggles the mind. How on one hand people are happy for others to illegally avoid income tax and on the other complain about, well, anything government/society/nation/tax related is beyond me.

I flat out refuse to pay tradesmen in cash regardless of the amount because I know what they're up to. I've also whistleblown on a number who I've had more substantial evidence on. If everyone did the same the state of our country and economy would be much more positive.
 
Colonel_Klinck said:
Those non English speaking guys are 99% being paid in cash. Like others have said though you are happy with the job, he's asked for cash so pay the man in cash. His tax issues are his tax issues. I wish some of clients would pay in cash on occasion :(
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they probably speak english but its easier not to
 
Russinating said:
People's "I don't care" attitude towards tax evasion both disgusts me and boggles the mind. How on one hand people are happy for others to illegally avoid income tax and on the other complain about, well, anything government/society/nation/tax related is beyond me.

I flat out refuse to pay tradesmen in cash regardless of the amount because I know what they're up to. I've also whistleblown on a number who I've had more substantial evidence on. If everyone did the same the state of our country and economy would be much more positive.
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You really can't take the **** with cash and avoiding tax these days. HMRC aren't idiots, they know how much money you spend, mortgage, how much your bills are, shopping etc and if you can't show where that money came from then you're ******. You also have the materials you bought, unless you got the person you are working for to buy them. HMRC expect you to take a bit but if you take the **** they'll come down on you like a tonne of bricks.
 
100% he isnt paying tax on something or somewhere in the chain.
Every single roofer, fitter, garden clearance has offered me 2 prices for work. The lower cash one and the " normal" one.
You should have agreed on this at the start .
 
If the job has been done to a satisfactory standard I’d just get on with it and pay (probably the least energy consuming option).
 
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