The way I heard it on R4 this morning was ...



1. The guy was asked a straight question ... he couldn't really say, no it's fine, could he?

2. He didn't mean that cash was a problem, just cash-to-avoid-tax.



That being so, I thought "Ah, lot of fuss about nowt".



But now that all this other stuff has come out ... well, the term hypocrite is quite kind really.

that's fine until you have a problem with the workmanship and the trader doesn't give the back up service to repair the problem - assuming there was no written evidence of the work being done or any record of the cash being paid (no invoice etc) then you are up the creek without a spanner !

He could have answered like one of them guys, what is it - oh, yes, "politicians", who are normally so slippery and practised in not answering questions that you might as well try to nail down a glob of oil.





Aye. Not only that but also he's managed to kick up such a shhittstorm with his naivete that if you were his boss, you'd be reaching for the handle.

Yes the guy was an idiot if he refers to all "cash" transactions. But, it is ludicrous for people on here to suggest that people don't pay nannies and cleaners in cash (instead of running a payroll) and how many people pay builders, etc cash to avoid VAT? Of course, if the builder doesn't declare it for VAT purposes he won't declare it for income tax either, which perhaps explains the vast sums some of these guys spend in restaurants, takeaways and pubs? Make no mistake this is all illegal tax evasion (not legal tax avoidance) and the scale is enormous. So, he's right to highlight it and the people on here who are making excuses are very morally suspect in my opinion as they seem to condone illegality and the ramifications in terms of lower expenditure on healthcare, social care, schools, etc.

What is wrong is to suggest that anyone who asks for cash from now on is on the fiddle, its not the case and cash is a perfectly acceptable method of transacting building work, I'd ask for a receipt or even print my own remittance advice detailling what the payment was for and get them to sign it - other than that its not my responsibility as a purchaser to make sure that anyone pays tax on anything that I buy from them - I wish it could be actually because I once had a Vodaphone contract.



Its certainly not "morally wrong" to pay for anything in cash and as I listed above, there are several very good reasons why a trader should ask for cash without tax evasion being on the list at all.

To add to that, has anyone ever heard a cabinet minister openly condemn Amazon, Vodafone or Tesco for their tax arrangements? Or even promise to enact legislation to curtail their avoidance? It's easy for them to bitch about the self-employed builder or plumber dodging tax, but it means fook all when Vodafone can get millions of pounds written off for the price of a posh lunch.

Is it in the billions, like I've heard?

Cameron was pressed about Vodafone and others the day after his comments on Jimmy Carr. He squirmed a bit then said he wasn't going to comment on every individual case.



I was no fan of the last government but this lot really are the scum of the earth.

Actually, now that you mention it, I seem to remember a figure of £6bn being mentioned. Or maybe I've just made that up.

[url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/22/vodafone-tax-case-leaves-sour-tasteNews report from the time[/url



[url=http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-1704527/Taxman-let-Vodafone-off-6bn-bill.htmlAnd a different estimate[/url



Truth is that everyone involved will tell you that they don't really know how much was involved - HMRC had a figure in mind and Vodaphone had another, both were adamant that they were right but they settled at a figure probably somewhere in between, which is strange in itself because when HMRC come after individuals they are absolutely sure how much you owe and they won't be told that they are wrong even when they are wrong - its up to you to prove them wrong, its nothing short of an extortion racket sometimes.



[url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/06/10/vodafone-corporation-tax-row_n_1584380.htmlWhat is true is that Vodaphone paid absolutely no corporation tax at all last year[/url

That's because the fault lies with inept politicians and HMRC. It's up to the former to enact legislation that does what they want and the latter to collect it. It's not just me that thinks that - look at the letters page in today's Times.

When did the Vodafone issue arise?