Cash in Hand Payments ‘Morally Wrong’
Cash in hand payments to tradesmen and other services throughout the UK has been branded as ‘morally wrong’ by Treasury Minister, David Gauke. The minister warned that this is damaging the economy and assisting tax-evaders, whilst leaving others to foot the bill.
It is thought that cash in hand payments costs Britain billions of pounds a year in lost tax revenue, while others had to pay more to make up for the losses.
However there is a degree of hostility against Mr Gauke after his comments, with critics accusing him of being ‘unnecessarily moralistic’ about normal people trying to keep their household bills down.
In order to tackle the problem, HMRC are planning an amnesty within which traders who admit they have evaded tax by accepting cash in hand for services are encouraged to come forwards, and will face a reduced penalty. This will include £200 in fines as well as a further fine of 10% of whatever they are found to have avoided in tax. Anyone who does not take up this offer will be subject to criminal prosecution if they are found to have not paid what they owe.
Other operations since 2007 have pulled in an extra £500m in tax, after targeting home tutors and eBay traders.
Share this..
Related stories
Is Northern Rock a viable business?
While there was a very strong argument as to why the UK government initially stepped in to save Northern Rock from collapse, i.e. saving the overall banking system from collapse, many people are starting to wonder if it is actually a viable business. Despite suggestions in the press that the company was ahead of schedule with regards to the repayment of substantial taxpayer subsidies, it appears n...
Read More890,000 people face £100 fine from HMRC
04/02/2015 HM Revenue and Customs has claimed that up to 890,000 people will face an £100 fine for not filing their tax returns on time, after they missed their deadline on the 31st January. The number of people who failed to reach the deadline was much lower than the recorded peak of 1.6 million in 2010. Further fines will be enforced if people fail to complete their returns after three,...
Read MoreLloyds bank delivers disastrous results
On the back of figures from Northern Rock, the UK taxpayer took another beating with today's announcement of half-year figures from Lloyds bank. The group announced a £4 billion pre-tax loss at the halfway stage and admitted that bad debts have tripled over the last six months to a worryingly high £13.4 billion. The situation is further complicated by the fact that over 80% of the bad debts actu...
Read MoreBank of England stokes up fury of the City
Andy Haldane, the Bank of England's head of financial stability, has poked another stick at the UK financial sector with a suggestion that an exodus of bankers is a "price worth paying". In the interview on the BBC World Service's Business Daily programme, Mr. Haldane presented a grim view of the banking system, and one that is likely to provoke more fury from the city during a period of continuou...
Read MoreTax avoidance adding to UK tax rate
The Treasury has announced that the basic rate of tax could be cut by 2p if people paid the tax they were obliged to. In many cases it is thought that everyone else picks up the tab when the wealthy avoid their obligations. Such avoidance is within the laws of the UK tax rules in many cases, and exploits loopholes that allow individuals to pay a minimum amount of tax on earnings. An example of...
Read More