TAXING TIMES Yet again there has been another case of a haulier falling
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foul of the tax authorities who are demanding PAYE for employees. And once again, ignorance of the law is given as an excuse for not collecting deductions from so-called "self-employed" staff.
It is difficult to feel too much sympathy for these hauliers who hit the headlines with cries of "Foul!" when they know only too well that it is their responsibility to collect and hand over the appropriate taxes.
My own association has spelled out the implications of not doing so not only at its Autumn Conference last year, but also through area meetings, its news bulletins and its monthly magazine. I'm sure other associations have done the same.
From time to time there are suggestions that we should rally round these hauliers who want to take on the Inland Revenue and fight this principle. I don't really feel they are entitled to our support.
We all know that one way or another we are subsidising a fairly hefty black economy and I would hate to see the transport industry, which has to fight so hard for meagre profits, support those individuals who have no intention of paying their taxes.
Being unpaid tax collectors is irritating, but a well-ordered tax structure benefits the country as a whole — including the transport industry.
E K W Philp President British Association of Removers