[kenmacd]

That's really more of a "Want to pay more than your fair share of taxes? Help them commit tax fraud".

Cutting Google out of the mix can be seen as a net positive for the community. The same can't really be said for taxes that go to your local services.

[sneak]

Paying in cash in no way helps anyone commit tax fraud.

It is very plainly morally and ethically unambiguous to pay in cash.

[IncreasePosts]

Paying in cash absolutely helps commit tax fraud. It doesn't mean your contractor will commit fraud, but if they wanted to, it's a lot easier if you pay with cash compare to check or credit card.

[jimsug]

...

> very plainly morally and ethically unambiguous

unambiguous[ly] _what_? Bad? Good?

[AnthonyMouse]

> That's really more of a "Want to pay more than your fair share of taxes? Help them commit tax fraud".

This seems like a trope put forth by the middle men other than the government who want to keep getting their cut of every transaction in the world. "Don't cut out Visa and PayPal, that's practically stealing from your neighbor!"

You can obviously accept payment in cash and report it as taxable income, and not doing this is a good way to get caught, because if you're spending thousands of dollars a year more than you're declaring in income and the government asks you where it came from, you're going to have a bad time.

Meanwhile people who want to risk going to jail can do it just as well by deducting personal expenses as business expenses, or just making up business expenses and hoping nobody comes to check. All while letting payment processors siphon off something like 5% of your gross revenue, which for these kinds of things is often in excess of half your net income because your net margins were less than 10% to begin with.

[behringer]

It's your moral duty to avoid paying tax, if you're an American.

[margalabargala]

Given that America is a democracy, it would appear that a majority of Americans do not share your morals, so on the contrary it is your moral duty to pay your taxes.

[AngryData]

I don't know if I would agree with that take taken by itself without qualifiers. "if you're American" is doing some lifting but could mean anything. But otherwise I kind of agree, the average American is getting fleeced while the ultra wealthy are avoiding massive tax costs while benefiting the most from state infrastructure and economic policy.

[hvb2]

Uh? What? Care to explain?

I know it's considered a sport but a moral duty?

[jazzyjackson]

Bulk of income taxes go to the feds. Plumber will still pay plenty of sales tax. I'd say the value of having a plumber that likes you outweighs what benefits one receives from government programs, making it rational to stiff the man.