Backdating a sole trader registration?

BillyBoy13

Since Im just after going through all this literally just a few months ago a friend asked would I help him get his own business up and going. So I said I would.

So we're filling in the CRO forms (RNB1) and you can backdate the date the business started trading. Eg.. the business started trading 6 months ago.

Well he wants to backdate it by about 8 months to when he first started trading (cash in hand jobs at weekends), personally I dont see the point but hes adamant anyway.

Is there any reason why he shouldnt backdate it like this? Would anything ever come out of it? Or will there be extra questions?

Pat Mustard

There is a reason not furnish false information.
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1963/en/act/pub/0030/sec0011.html#sec11

11.—If any statement furnished under this Act contains any matter which is false in any material particular to the knowledge of any person signing it, that person shall, on summary conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding £100, or to both.

The fine has gone up, but I haven't checked the current penalty.

BTW, I don't recall having heard of somebody being prosecuted for this offence, personally.

BillyBoy13

The Mustard wrote: »

There is a reason not furnish false information.
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1963/en/act/pub/0030/sec0011.html#sec11


The fine has gone up, but I haven't checked the current penalty.

BTW, I don't recall having heard of somebody being prosecuted for this offence, personally.

Well basically I see what you are saying (and hes saying something very similar)...

But heres how I see it, he has been doing weekend cash in hand jobs since he was at college. But it was only about 8 months ago he decided to really start stepping it up a notch and proactively advertising himself to see would it work.

Thing is it was all cash in hand.

I dont see the point in getting pinickity with the forms/dates to reflect that kind of work, and my fear would be at least if he dates the company to start now, then he is only liable for right now (I was thinking you dont want a letter from the revenue in a months time wondering where their cut of the money is for all those nixers since last May).

Maybe Im just looking at this wrong?

johnnyskeleton

BillyBoy13 wrote: »

(I was thinking you dont want a letter from the revenue in a months time wondering where their cut of the money is for all those nixers since last May).

Asking him to pay the taxes that everyone else has to pay? How very dare they!

BillyBoy13

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

Asking him to pay the taxes that everyone else has to pay? How very dare they!

What is it about people always having to get on a high horse about these kind of things? So he didnt pay tax on 8 months worth of nixers. So what? Who gives a crap? Maybe I should go and hang him? When the revenue are done taxing him (he earned a tad under 1400 euro over an 8 month period of working saturdays you do the maths). So when revenue are done squeezing him dry he can turn around and slap them with his own bill. He bought a van at 8K and 3K worth of tools that he didn't claim VAT on.

Incase you havent realised the problem has nothing to do with paying tax.

The problem is he doesnt have any receipts or paperwork for those 8 months.

The problem is what happens when revenue ask him how do we know it was only a few weekend nixers you did and not working every day of the week?

The problem is he has to go and pay an accountant an arm and a leg to do out 8 months of work, for what would be a negligible amount of tax or probably just written off, when he could avoid the whole thing by not backdating the business.

The problem is what if he gets..... actually nevermind, Im not here to justify somebody else's tax history to you.

johnnyskeleton

BillyBoy13 wrote: »

What is it about people always having to get on a high horse about these kind of things?

Because the rest of us are being honest while your friend is being dishonest and while the country is not in the state its in just because of your friend, it is because of the many like him and you who think that it is OK to avoid taxes yet avail of government services.

So he didnt pay tax on 8 months worth of nixers. So what?

So he's a criminal. It's not any different to someone who has been shoplifting without being caught for the last 8 months.

Who gives a crap?

I do. If he doesn't have to pay tax, why should I?

Maybe I should go and hang him?

Just report him to the revenue would be enough.

When the revenue are done taxing him (he earned a tad under 1400 euro over an 8 month period of working saturdays you do the maths). So when revenue are done squeezing him dry he can turn around and slap them with his own bill. He bought a van at 8K and 3K worth of tools that he didn't claim VAT on.

So now its revenue's fault that he wasn't working legitimately?

Incase you havent realised the problem has nothing to do with paying tax.

The problem is he doesnt have any receipts or paperwork for those 8 months.

The problem is what happens when revenue ask him how do we know it was only a few weekend nixers you did and not working every day of the week?

Exactly. If he really was working below the tax threshold, he would have no problem declaring this to the revenue. The fact that he doesn't suggests that it is a lot more than he is suggesting.

The problem is he has to go and pay an accountant an arm and a leg to do out 8 months of work, for what would be a negligible amount of tax or probably just written off, when he could avoid the whole thing by not backdating the business.

Or he could do his own returns. I mean, there's even an online form that makes it very easy to do your returns. No accountant required. Many accountants will also offer to do the first few years for free.

But that's beside the point. If he was concerned about the costs of being self employed, then he shouldn't have become self employed. He can't just make up the rules as he goes along. Simples.