According to a survey of accountants conducted by Bloomsbury Professional, one in three builders provide incorrect information on their tax returns with 11pc of taxi drivers and 9pc of IT consultants filing the wrong details too.
Builders are traditionally seen as high risk because they are often paid in cash and the sums of money involved can be quite substantial. The building sector is usually on HM Revenue & Customs' (HMRC) radar, with HMRC even taking the unusual step of writing to home owners who have had building work done and paid cash to ask them to disclose the identity of their builders.
Martin Casimir, spokesman of Bloomsbury Professional, said: "Perhaps more than any other trade, builders frequently deal with quite large sums of cash. This makes accurate record keeping challenging and creates numerous opportunities for tax evasion.
"Cash-in-hand [deals] with the promise of no VAT is still incredibly common. With VAT now at 20pc, the incentive for cash payments is greater than ever."
Mr Casimir said that customers often ask for a cash-in-hand discount and with competition fierce during the economic downturn, the temptation to undercut a rival quote can be irresistible.
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Builders are traditionally seen as high risk because they are often paid in cash and the sums of money involved can be quite substantial. The building sector is usually on HM Revenue & Customs' (HMRC) radar, with HMRC even taking the unusual step of writing to home owners who have had building work done and paid cash to ask them to disclose the identity of their builders.
Martin Casimir, spokesman of Bloomsbury Professional, said: "Perhaps more than any other trade, builders frequently deal with quite large sums of cash. This makes accurate record keeping challenging and creates numerous opportunities for tax evasion.
"Cash-in-hand [deals] with the promise of no VAT is still incredibly common. With VAT now at 20pc, the incentive for cash payments is greater than ever."
Mr Casimir said that customers often ask for a cash-in-hand discount and with competition fierce during the economic downturn, the temptation to undercut a rival quote can be irresistible.
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