– Minister Says Cash In Hand Is Morally Wrong

Key Considerations

“Treasury minister David Gauke has said it is “morally wrong” to pay tradesmen such as plumbers, builders and cleaners in cash in the hope of avoiding tax.

He argued the practice came at “a big cost” to the Treasury and meant other people had to pay more.

But Treasury sources stressed Mr Gauke was answering a specific question rather than proposing a policy change.

Labour said the government should be focusing on “clamping down” on “large-scale tax avoidance”.

Asked if he ever had paid cash to tradesmen to reduce his costs, London Mayor Boris Johnson said: “I’ve certainly paid a lot of cash in hand.”

In response to the same question, Local Government secretary Eric Pickles said: “Certainly not.”

What This Means For You

And Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “David Gauke was saying that tax-dodging is wrong and personally I haven’t dodged tax.”

The government is estimated to lose about £2bn each year to the black economy as tradesmen fail to pay VAT or income tax by not declaring payments and keeping them “off the books.”

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