UK Window Cleaners Targeted In Politics

So far cash-in-hand builders, hospital consultants, home tutors, plumbers, window cleaners and eBay traders have all been targeted by HMRC inspectors, pulling in an extra £500million in tax since 2007.

Tradesmen's anger over cash-in-hand claims: Tradesmen have accused the Government of letting them down after David Gauke, a Treasury minister, criticised those who accepted cash-in-hand payments in order to cheat the tax man. Labour MP John Mann accused Mr Gauke of "attacking the working class". He said: "George Osborne and his team cannot resist attacking the working classes in Britain, whilst leaving millionaires and large multinationals free to hide money in UK secured overseas territories. "First it was pasties, then caravans and petrol. Now it is everyone in Britain who goes to car boot sales. Have George Osborne and David Cameron ever visited a car boot sale in their life? Can we now expect George Osborne to tramp around car boot sales in order to try to extract a few pennies in tax? "If we are looking at issues like this then we need every Cabinet Minister to reveal any potential benefits they have received that are theoretically taxable, including all cash payments made by them over the last five years, including payments to window cleaners, car washers and gardeners."

A spokesman for Rated People, a website which advertises the services of builders, carpenters and other workers, said that the "reality" for many was that they would go out of business if they did not accept cash payments. Tariq Dag Khan accused ministers of failing to understand the realities faced by small tradesmen in the current economic climate. Ryan Notz, of the MyBuilder website which has 60,000 builders on its books, also criticised Mr Gauke. He said: "Going after the little fish is a distraction from larger mistakes that have been made over tax avoidance by large corporations and the like. "The real problem here is VAT on building work, which should be zero-rated for all building work as it is on new builds. Tradesmen are not asking for cash in hand to dodge the odd few pounds on income tax, but rather to stay under the VAT threshold, as they know that once they hit that threshold they have to add 20 per cent to every invoice, which in the current market can often mean pricing themselves out of a job."

They spoke out after Mr Gauke told the Telegraph that it was "morally wrong" for tradesmen to offer a reduction in their fee in return for cash, saying that if they then failed to pay tax by keeping their work off the books they would effectively be robbing those who did. Mr Khan said: “David Gauke’s comments that it is morally wrong to pay tradesmen in cash do little to help tradesmen who are struggling in a difficult economic climate. "For the reality is that there is little or no alternative to cash payments for many tradesmen, and criticising the whole industry belies a misunderstanding of the situation many customers and tradesmen are in."

Morality Tsar David Gauke 'never pays cash-in-hand' - what about the window cleaner Minister? Exchequer Secretary David Gauke has come under fire after warning that people who pay for services cash-in-hand are contributing to UK tax avoidance. The Treasury minister has said: "Getting a discount with your plumber by paying cash in hand is something that is a big cost to the Revenue and means others have to pay more in tax. "I think it is morally wrong. It is illegal for the plumber but it is pretty implicit in those circumstances that there is a reason why there is a discount for cash. "That is a large part of the hidden economy."

The Government loses about £2 billion 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". Mr Gauke told BBC2's Newsnight some Tory ministers may have previously paid workers in cash, but denied doing so himself. "I've never said to a tradesman, 'If I pay you cash, can I get a discount?'," he said. No doubt, this claim will be forensically examined over the coming days - just to ensure nothing has slipped his mind - from cleaners and gardeners to window cleaners. 

Paying tradesmen cash in hand morally wrong, says minister - Mr Gauke said cash payments were "facilitating" the hidden economy. 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." 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". Mr Gauke told BBC Two's Newsnight there was nothing wrong with paying in cash, but doing so actively to avoid tax was wrong.