paying tradesmen cash

[betty swollocks]

Finance News:

Treasury Minister David Gauke has said it is 'morally repugnant' to pay tradesmen anything apart from compliments and Monopoly money.

He argued the practice came at 'a big cost' to the Treasury as tradespeople can then use the cash they earn to buy things like bread, shoes, or provide somewhere for their families to live.

“I’ve never paid a tradesman anything other than compliments” said Gauke. “Or valuable advice on how to dress and speak properly. Sometimes, if I feel they've done a very good job, I’ll give them a cup of tea - although obviously I expense the cost of the teabags, milk and electricity.”

“Just the other day I had a plumber come to fix my boiler. Once he completed the job he tried to give me an invoice for his work, but I just gave him a firm handshake and told him I’d recommend him to my friends.”

“The feeling of a job well done is worth far more than any potentially untaxable cash fee.”

Gauke then went on to criticise the 'reprehensible behaviour' of vending machines that only accept cash.

 

[Zeespark]

What a plank, what about His mates claiming for their duck ponds etc?

AndyGuinness

 

[hxsarge]

well i for one have never, ever ever ever worked for cash in hand. never.... O)

 

[Hefferl]

The rich and powerful are feeling a little uncomfortable being under the spotlight regarding their various dodgy dealings. This then is just to cause a distraction and avert attention away from them and towards the bloke in the street.

 

[ProDave]

well I like cash, because it's payment immediately that cannot bounce like a cheque, so it's worth a small discount for the peace of mind.

What I can't understand from all the press today, people are saying some tradesmen give 20% discount for cash then don't declare it.

WTF would you do that?

I'm only a basic rate tax payer, so I only pay 20% tax, and am not VAT registered either. So what exactly would I gain (other than a criminal record) if I gave 20% discount and then didn't declare the job? I would be no better off than charging the full price and paying my dues.

Yet another example of the poor state of "sensational" journalism.

 

[steptoe]

i give a discount for cash, Im not afraid to admit that, but, as Dave says, what cretin would think a 20% discount and not declaring it makes you better off?!

I knock a couple of quid off, saves all the hassle of getting to the bank with a cheque etc, although more and more folks are bank Tx-ing payment to me, I like that cos it makes it instant and easy to keep track of.

 

[Evans Electric]

Its up to any tradesman to accept payment in whatever form he wants !! Its suddenly being made to sound like a criminal act .

They need to clean up their own act before they tackle the Man on the Clapham Omnibus.

They already rip us off big time with these "Payments on Account" every year .

And what about the CIS rip off where you have to include fuel/travel costs in your "Sum subject to tax"

The " Sum subject to Tax" is your wages , its what you are charging the builder ,say, and yes , its taxable and the Builder deducts the tax before you ever see it.

But the fuel , well , you paid tax on that money when you earned it on the last job, plus the cost of a gallon of petrol includes fuel tax and VAT , which you paid to the government when you bought the petrolthen you have to add it to your CIS taxable income and pay some more tax on it .

HHHmmmmm! I wonder if some people include it in with the materials column .... OOOoooh Nooooo....they wouldn't do that would they ??

I mean ...the government would'nt rip off the working man would they ??? :innocent

---------- Post Auto-Merged at 21:10 ---------- Previous post was made at 21:07 ----------

Finance News:Treasury Minister David Gauke has said it is 'morally repugnant' to pay tradesmen anything apart from compliments and Monopoly money.

He argued the practice came at 'a big cost' to the Treasury as tradespeople can then use the cash they earn to buy things like bread, shoes, or provide somewhere for their families to live.

 

[betty swollocks]

yes it is

 

[ProDave]

And what about the CIS rip off where you have to include fuel/travel costs in your "Sum subject to tax" The " Sum subject to Tax" is your wages , its what you are charging the builder ,say, and yes , its taxable and the Builder deducts the tax before you ever see it.

But the fuel , well , you paid tax on that money when you earned it on the last job, plus the cost of a gallon of petrol includes fuel tax and VAT , which you paid to the government when you bought the petrolthen you have to add it to your CIS taxable income and pay some more tax on it .

Actually, think of CIS deductions, a bit like "payment on account" i.e paying your tax immediately, rather than at the end of the year.

When YOU do your accounts, of course your fuel / travel costs are deductable and do in the end reduce the FINAL tax you pay, even if you pay it up front through CIS, you will get it back, eventually.

Actually, for all it's sins, I like getting a lot of my income after CIS tax deductions. Why? well by paying a lot of CIS tax, when it comes to my end of year tax bill, I find I don't actually owe very much so only have a small tax bill as most of it has been paid. Why does that matter? Because Payment on account only applies above a certain threshold. but that threshold is your final tax bill. So pay most of your tax CIS so you only have a small final tax bill, and you totally avoid payment on account. I've not had to make a payment on account for several years now.

 

[kerching]

Payment in cash FFS!............I for one am just happy to get paid!................ :coat

 

[samson337]

Mmm. I think all who take cash in hand and don't declare it, are dam right thieves. But come to think of it so are Mp's, so we should all unite and follow in there foot steps, and then may be one day I can hire a cleaner, and gardener for my second home.

 

[Andy™]

i usually do anything i can to avoid CIS work. most of my work is R&M, which is CIS exepmt

 

[steptoe]

you know what,

Im thinking that a massive amount of my subby work is actually CIS exempt too,

I really need to look into this.....

 

[Andy™]

you know what,Im thinking that a massive amount of my subby work is actually CIS exempt too,

I really need to look into this.....

yes, you should

there is a company based in birmingham i do work for when they are up here - i think i was the only person on the job to get paid in full, once i sent him a link to details of what is exempt

doesnt help when the people who deduct tax payment dont actually know what they should / shouldnt be deducting

Repair of systemsThe legislation regarding building service systems only refers to their installation. Therefore, repairs to any of these systems are outside the scope of CIS. Soldering a leaking pipe or patching a leaking boiler, replacing a defective tap, rewiring a single defective circuit, replacing a burned-out ventilation fan motor, replacing a broken wash basin, fixing a leaking radiator or replacing standard radiator valves with thermostatic valves, are all plainly repairs to a part of the overall building system.

Even where the repaired/replaced item may represent a significant component part of the overall system, such as a central heating boiler, its replacement does not constitute

 

[Lee321]

dave thats not right man. if you did 80% of the year cis you'd be in for

 

[steptoe]

IIRC, I&T of installation work is excluded too

and general maintenance, ie, replacement of defective fittings....

although TBH Im not mega bothered, its all about a rebate at the end of the year if I simply pay it now, but, I suppose it could be in my bank rather than HMRCs.....

 

[tom1]

just watched this on the news, the reporter said "ask the mp's if they have ever paid builders cash"

but why would they as all there expencess can be clamed back

 

[steptoe]

hey, we have had members on here admit in the past they have been offered cash from HMRC staff for a discount,

heck, I'll bet MPs have so much 'loose' cash floating about they will go for discount for cash everytime,

its not like they can get everything back, but if they claim expenses then they have to pay tax on how they earned it to start with,

and if they got cash to start with then they have to move it somehow!

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note,

I actually found it very difficult trying to get into the English way of going where there is an invoice for everything,

when I first came here I had a lot of funny looks when after being given a price I simply said , 'I dont need an invoice' only to be looked at as if I had 6heads,

frickin VAT is just a tax on tax IMHO !

---------- Post Auto-Merged at 22:58 ---------- Previous post was made at 22:57 ----------

I already paid tax on my money when I earned it, why do I have to pay tax on it again when I spend it?

 

[betty swollocks]

I was once offered cash to lower the rewire price for the top guy in hmrc for the north east

His exact words were ' hey we are all the same we all want to pay less and save a bit of cash'

I declined offering a cash incentive and didn't get the job!

 

[kme]

nice post Andy scoobed mate