Black economy/ fake goods/ dole cheats & reporting

srsly78 wrote: »

Before people start going completely nuts they should realise that people are allowed to earn a small amount on the side without paying tax. Yes even if on the dole. However they are supposed to declare this extra income.

So definitely report serious abuses, but note that people selling mince pies are christmas may not in fact be dodging tax.

If on the dole you pay tax and extra income is taxable. You may not need to pay income tax.
You could work Saturdays and Sundays and keep your dole. Think you still can too

FFS It shouldn't be up to the general population to report anyone. There should be systems in place to prevent fraud on every level within the SW.

A girl lives beside my parents, my parents own their house but hers is council, all paid for. She has 2 children to different fathers, the father of the youngest lives with her but isn't on the residency so his income isn't considered when she is getting her allowances for housing, children, unemployment etc...., she also works for cash in hand in bar, and her brother a good friend of mine throws her £50 a week for minding his kids while him and his wife are at work.

This is the epitome of someone just taking the piss, she doesn't want for anything as far as material goods are concerned. Her kids are absolutely spoiled with computers and games and anything they need, and they have a cinema screen sized tv in the corner.

Now she is a lovely girl, friendly with my parents and all, and they dote on her kids, but sometimes it must absolutely stick in my parents throats to see how much she is able to spend on her kids and her house and everything. I'd say my parents would have loved to have spoiled us the same but they worked hard to own their house and when my dad was out of work my mums income just about covered the mortgage and kept us in clothes.

Anyway, as I said this is the epitome of someone taking the piss, and probably the basis behind the 'single mothers' comment from a few posts back. But I know my parents would never say anything, even if they weren't friendly with her (believe me there's plenty of others in the same housing estate at exactly the same) so are we part of the problem for facilitating this? Probably, but I don't think too many people would report someone in the same circumstance.

northernpower wrote: »

A girl lives beside my parents, my parents own their house but hers is council, all paid for. She has 2 children to different fathers, the father of the youngest lives with her but isn't on the residency so his income isn't considered when she is getting her allowances for housing, children, unemployment etc...., .

Next door to me is a similar situation, single woman, 2 kids, live in bf not declared, he actually runs a clothes alteration business from the house.She told me she claims job seekers, single parent, rent & fuel allowance, medical card plus other freebies from the SW. Would I report her ...no but the SW should have systems in place to counteract these claims, thats what we pay the public service for isn`t it

pennypitstop wrote: »

Heard recently that there is a huge increase in the no. of people being reported for working the black economy, false Social welfare claims and even for selling copyrited and fake goods.
Facebook is rife with it & I'm sure a raid on an xmas craft fair would expose a few more.

Do you think people should report if they know someone?
Is there a serious problem in your opinion or are some crimes not so bad?

Would you report someone?
Would you even know where to to go or who to call?

Money is tight, people who may do a little on the side to support themselves and their family, in a consumerist holiday such as Christmas should not be targetted, they are small fry. If people honestly have reported others over making items and selling them in fairs, considering how small an amount that would make a person, then it's quite depressing.
However, someone defrauding society at large, when they know they shouldn't, by claiming for things in a fradulent manner, is wrong.
On the other side of the coin, society needs to be careful that it doesn't turn in on itself, distrust of people, suspicision, an orwellian environment... divide and conquer. The question you have asked, in any case, is not black and white, but many shades of grey ( not fifty shades though)

AnonoBoy wrote: »

Would you report a murder or would you just say, "Sure that's why we have the Gardai isn't it?"

You make a fair point.... it astonished me how easy she said it was to claim all of her allowances...surely there should be more checks and balances

shopaholic01 wrote: »

If you did report someone would they know it was you? More people might do it if it was anonymous. Anyone fraudulently claiming social welfare should be reported - it might allow more money for those who genuinely need it and reduce tax for those in employment.

Reporting people is never going to reduce tax or increase benefits for others.

It's also a sticky wicket to get into, how do you know that the person isn't already declaring what they are doing and are still entitled to their benefits. Would the reporter be privy to their dealings with the social welfare and their private details?
Also, the person selling a few cakes at stalls would generally not be making money but might be trying to get "word" out to increase orders and therefore move into a legitimate business venture.
FWIW, if you want to sell food products at fayres etc you have to have public liability insurance etc. So therefore it will mostly be declared.
I used to sell cakes in the UK and I was getting the dole. I declared it every time I signed on but I was working at a loss so it didn't affect my benefits.
So from the outside you could be getting the wrong end of a ****ty stick.

Me personally I wouldn't report anyone cos I don't know their details and more importantly its none of my ****ing business what others do.

Mince Pie wrote: »

Me personally I wouldn't report anyone cos I don't know their details and more importantly its none of my ****ing business what others do.

It becomes your business when they start defrauding the government of your tax money.