Comments

Under the counter — 10 Comments

  1. In the odd time that I listen to Irish media these days, I hear an increasing amount of people refer to “paying in cash” when talking about the black market. It’s as if paying with money is illegal now.

    “Did you pay tradesmen the full amount including taxes, or did you just ‘pay with cash'”. Well I tried paying cash but the plumber insisted on getting a blowjob. 

    They won’t be happy until every penny is electronic. 
     

  2. GG – Paying cash is so much simpler for both parties.  The customer gets a better price as the supplier doesn’t have to pay VAT and tax.  The supplier also saves on all the hassle of extra tax and VAT returns.  As I said – everyone is a winner except the taxman.

  3. Was it Mary Harney who told us to shop around and get the best price? Black Market provides the best prices.

    Gammagoblin – They’ll never get rid of cash as they won’t want their own financial transactions tracked. Brown envelopes will never die.

     

  4. It’s all noise. Behind the scenes the black market is keeping things ticking over. Jeez, half the people in the country are feeding their kids and paying bills on the back of it! 

  5. Dessiegee – I believe it was the Mad Cow herself.  And she then had to qualify it by saying she didn’t mean heading off to Newry?!  Of course I [and everyone else] will shop around for the best price.  If White Van Man has a better price than the local supermarket then I would be out of my tinies not to buy there.  The only exception is diesel.  It’s not that I like paying excise duty on diesel, but I wouldn’t want the shite burned out of my engine!

    Mick – Know of any places around there doing under-the-counter house rentals for a week or so?  😉

  6. Not like it is a new issue. I remember as a kid going to the local barber for a hair cut. We always paid in cash back then. I still do for that matter. The barber said his pants had a pocket on the right and a pocket on the left. The money that went in the right pocket he told the government about and paid taxes on it. The money that went in the left pocket, well it seems that he would forget to report that money.

  7. Here in Lanzarote the black market is getting bigger, they are trying to clamp down on it, we had a tax inspector on the island just doing random checks on anything and everything. The police, when you are stopped in the car, asking do you live here ?, how do you support you’re self….etc.

    About 3 months ago the bank phoned and asked me to come in, as they needed to update their records, I just ignored it, then they phoned again a few times the following week, by now I was getting pissed off with them, so went in to the bank and had a words with them. They wanted to know where my money came from,told them I worked in the uk for a few months, then spend a few months here, they seemed happy with that. The other thing the police are asking now, while being stopped is asking you if you have private health insurance, if you are not in the system, of course this could open a can of worms etc,………do agree with the post though, they are causing the black market. Strange fucking times we live in !

  8. Jim C – I agree that the Black Market has always existed but this time around it’s different.  Not only are we still in the depths of recession here [caused by over-taxation and the resulting lack of spending power] but there is widespread resentment that our gubmint has been paying off billions for debts that aren’t even ours.  So there is a general feeling of why should I pay taxes that are going to line the pockets of foreign investors….

    Del – It’s a bit weird setting the police on people to see if they aren’t paying their way?  If my bank asked me where I got my money from, I’d ask them where they got all those billions from to lend to the builders.  That should shut them up?

  9. I have a tiny derelict property and herself insists on having it connected to the power grid so that she can clean and tidy around it. I thought, no problem. Once or twice a year we’d burn a few units of electricity and I’d pay over the few bob for that.

    But no. There is a standing charge for “Low Usage”, a PSO Levy from the Government and they add those two and apply 13.5% VAT on the lot. The net result is that I pay €16.00 a month ….. FOR NOTHING !!

    When cash changes hands, both parties get “SOMETHING”, and that is what money is for. Buyer & Seller must be happy for a deal to take place. So, bang on Grandad. If you’re getting nothing then give them nothing. 

  10. Here in Greece the black economy is well entrenched, and always has been. I had a bar here for a couple of years, and there was a well oiled jungle drum which sprang into action when a team of tax police hit the area. Many’s the time I’d get a call from a restaurant or bar in the area to say they were on the prowl. All of a sudden, all the drinks went through the till, and there were till receipts on all the tables. Now I have a carpentry business, and apart from the big boys, the suppliers tend to ask: “Would Sir like a receipt with that?”, or alternatively: “Would you be paying cash for that?”
     
    It’s survival. Unless you are turning over large sums of money and have slick accountants (with friends in the Tax Office) there’s no way you can operate legally. You’d just go bust in short order.

Hosted by Curratech Blog Hosting