[Fox]

Hi guys

Have you not listened to a word said? Are you so SURE samjam?  

I sub contract to a very reputable window cleaner who is VAT reg'd.  I am SURE he declares ALL of his income.

My income is all declared and I pay the right amount of tax and NI so why shouldn't you.

Not everyone wants to cheat the system - as said earlier it pays for our services.

[shinnyshinner]

Hi samjam
I think your right If every window cleaner came up to you or me and said they have declared everything all through there working life in window cleaning I must say I would think they are talking a load of bull.
I don’t know if big brother is looking on here but I bet you will have more people say they do declare everything but that’s up to them everyone starts some where and I bet main priority is not to the system when people first start.
Alan

[shinnyshinner]

Hi samjam
another thing have you been doing windowcleaning as well as another job where you have been paying tax.
if so with any of your window cleaning you do, have you had to put in a invoice to get your money.
Alan

[pdhanson]

"SURE" no-one declares everything?  Why judge others by your own standards?

Fair's fair, you should pay what you owe (not what you think you can get away with).  

If you get investigated, they may not see all your income going through a bank account, but the main thing they analyse is expenditure.

Believe me, they are on to ALL of the tricks.  It is a myth that because you're paid cash, that's untraceable.  Wrong.  They can find out if they want to, and they have unlimited patience.  They already investigate 1 in 10 tax returns randomly, its no trouble for them to take a look at a slightly suspicious case.

And its our pockets your picking by not paying, because we pay more.

Do the right thing

Silly

[shinnyshinner]

Hi silly philly
I agree with you, you should not think you can get one over the I/R by trying to take them for a ride they are not daft I know people that have had them waiting and following them right through there hole round and would think it would be quite embarrassing when your called in to explain why certain jobs are not on your accounts but I don’t believe that if certain people don’t declare what they do for a second income it will come out of our pocket. We could be getting into the politics now we pay more because of the government spending on different issues is getting out of control.
Who is paying for the many thousands of people coming into this country for example we are not paying more because joke bloggs is not paying into the system. If he was would we all get rebates/lower tax bills?
Alan

[pdhanson]

yes, we would indeed get lower tax bills.

I read that if tax evasion were eradicated then basic rate tax would fall to 17% instead of 22% as it now is.  On someone earning £20,000 that would be a tax bill of about £700 per year less.

As for what the government spends our money on, if you dont agree with them, surely the way to show it is at the polling station, not by comitting a crime.

Silly

[shinnyshinner]

Hi silly philly
You make it sound so easy I am Shaw it is not as easy as that, I don’t think that all what is printed is true.
But lets get one thing straight I pay my taxes and believe me more then enough but I am not going to paint a picture to make myself look something I am not.
If someone out there wants to do a sideline to help him/her self or his/her family out I am not going to stand out on this forum trying to make myself look something I'm not. Good luck to them.
But do fill different about someone signing on and doing it
Alan  

[g_griffin]

I think Samjam wants the answer that HE wants to hear ie. that he shouldn`t pay tax, or as little as possible. I don`t think moralising will change his mind. I pay tax not because it benefits society but because I don`t want to be hit with a huge bill should I get caught out. You could work all your life and not pay a penny but you could also end up with a bill for thousands. 
                         Gerry.

[matt]

This thread is funny really

how many on here will hold there hands up and say, i dont like paying taxs, i try to pay as little as possible,

well i will

i dont like paying tax's, as some of it is spent on layabout assylum seekers who are out to bleed the system dry, while my mother who is over 60, cannot have a council grant to fx the rear wall on her house (lack of funding they say )

I try and pay as little tax as possible, all legit, i will be claiming for my phone, for my car and for my new PC, and all my new equipment, its all legit, i will decalre what i earn, and then i will pay my tax bill

ive said it now

[shinnyshinner]

Hi Matt
I'll second it too.
I too hate paying tax.
The whole system is wrong and won’t be sorted out on a vote every 4 years, if only it was true.
When it comes to self assessments etc I would of thought most companies out there do what they can to pay as little as possible.
Alan

[simonb]

The best option is to use an accountant.
It will cost £300 or so but it will save more than that in tax as they know exactly what can be claimed and have u tried filling out your tax return?
simonb

[shinnyshinner]

Hi simonb
During the year I keep my books up to date then all my books go to my dads and his accountant does both of our accounts together.
Alan

[samjam]

think some of you must have read me wrong.All I was implieing was that window cleaners may have some small income to rely on in winter months and when customers dont pay up.How exactly can you predict a weekly wage under these circumstances?

[zeusjazmin]

tell the tax man you have started!!!!!!!!,do not withold anything.
i was investigated because i was naive,they will look into all bank accounts,credit cards hp payments,absoloutly everything!!!!!!!
you will have to prove to them that you have not been making vast ammounts of money.

[AuRavelling79]

My wife does my books (she's done Bookkeeping, Accounts for Ltd Co's and Accounts software training - pretty bright really - except she married me!) - and she gets paid to do it which is a business expense.

[Colin_Glenn]

It really is worth declaring your earnings correctly. If you earn less than £15,000 you only need to tell them what you made your expenses and your net earnings (earnings minus expenses) if you do it on the internet it is dead easy and you can fill out your return in an evening.
I found out recently that if you are investigated by the IR they also present you with a bill for thier time at the end of the investigation. My friend had a bill for £890 after a random investigation, even though they found NOTHING wrong with his accounts. Fortunatley he had an insurance policy with his accountant which paid that bill. Personaly I think THAT is unfair , if they want to check your accounts then they should pick up the bill if nothing is wrong.

Colin

[Duke]

pah,if it's paid by cheque or account...it goes through the business....if it's cash, it falls in the pocket....there's always the odd foreigner.....

[NBwcs]

That sounds incredible! Why was he being investigated? Was it just a random check and if so has anyone else been landed with a similar bill? If the IR are charging £800 odd quid to carry out an investigation when nothing amiss has happened then it sends out the wrong sort of message to everyone who keeps "honest"accounts.Its enough to encourage anyone to keep a litle extra back for such a rainy day.

[Colin_Glenn]

He's was a mechanic and had his own business. It was just a random check. He said he had to go to his accountants offices to meet with the IR inspectors and they asked him questions about his bank statements, then they took all his accounts away to check. After several weeks his accountant called to say that the IR were happy with his accounts and that when he got the bill from them he was to send it to the accountant and it would be paid by the insurance policy.
He told me that his accounts were quite complicated because he was buying parts for cars and this meant that a lot of money was spent in lots of transactions so perhaps it took a long time to check his accounts. But I still say that if he was up front and honest with anything then it is WRONG that he was sent a big bill, whether the insurance paid it or not. I understand Bungalow-Bill's point of view but I think it is better to pay up front and honestly as a matter of principle. The law seems to be set up for the benefit of the fraudster but there is nothing more valuable than a clean concience.
 
Has anyone else heard of a similar experience?

[mark f]

nope but instead of doing my own accounts and getting my accountant to just check them over and fill in that stupid so called "simplified" form, i will inquire how much it is to get her to do the lot and include insurance cos i cant believe that happened!! . I have a very good friend who is a tax investigator for the big time fraudsters i will be asking him about that.
 If your guilty then fair enough but if your not then they should appologise, not send a whacking great bill. The problem is that the IR works on the presumption we are all on the fiddle, so those of us who arent, are just viewed not as honest but as getting away with it!