Purchasing a bike through the company for VAT purposes - creative accounting?

[mr_cellophane]

Lots of overtime, every weekend and making sure rotas were to my advantage. It was only for about 5 years and I knew it would come to an end.

 

[winjim]

Lots of overtime, every weekend and making sure rotas were to my advantage. It was only for about 5 years and I knew it would come to an end.

If you made sure rotas were to your advantage, were they to anybody else's disadvantage?

 

[Drago]

Most small business owners would earn more working for a company or public sector, more should have a go and find out what it is like, bit angry as I just had another small business go bankrupt on me this moring oweing over £1,000.

As an average, the self employed work a third longer and earn a third less than employees.

 

[mr_cellophane]

If you made sure rotas were to your advantage, were they to anybody else's disadvantage?

No. We covered 7 - 7. No one wanted to do early or late by choice, so as I only lived 3 miles away, whenever anyone was off I rostered them for late and me for early, 20 hours at time & half an extra weeks pay.

To those saying playing the system legally to my advantage is immoral. What is a fair tax system ? Any tax system will always be unfair to someone. Fairest system IMO is a very large tax free amount and then one flat rate

 

[winjim]

No. We covered 7 - 7. No one wanted to do early or late by choice, so as I only lived 3 miles away, whenever anyone was off I rostered them for late and me for early, 20 hours at time & half an extra weeks pay.

To those saying playing the system legally to my advantage is immoral. What is a fair tax system ? Any tax system will always be unfair to someone. Fairest system IMO is a very large tax free amount and then one flat rate

I'm happy with a progressive system. I'd be happier with a system that couldn't be gamed by company directors and people rich enough to afford clever accountants. I'd be even happier if when people did game the system, they just admitted it was for their own gain and didn't try and frame it as getting one over on 'the man' as if they never benefitted from any of the things that our tax money pays for.




I am aware of the existence of cash in hand tradespeople and I am also aware that the government doesn't always spend our tax money wisely...

 

[mr_cellophane]

I look at tax like I look at shopping. I go to Lidl, Tesco, etc to pay the least amount possible, I don't shoplift as that would be illegal.

 

[Gunk]

As an average, the self employed work a third longer and earn a third less than employees.

That wasn’t my experience, I was self employed for 12 years and it was reasonably lucrative, I worked less hours than the PAYE job I had before.

 

[mr_cellophane]

You have to remember that all the Big Issue sellers are classed as self employed which must skew those figures somewhat

 

[rivers]

If you are no longer PAYE and now self-employed/director, could you not purchase a bike for the purposes of commuting and write it off against your taxes? My wife was able to put her e-bike and various accessories through her books as it's main purpose is commuting. She uses it 95% of the time to commute to her classes around the city when the weather is cooperative, and the other 5% is when on holiday or a nice sunny day. Her accountant said it was fine to put through.

 

[srw]

whenever anyone was off I rostered

I've highlighted the important word. You were in charge of the roster and you chose which shifts to work. So you chose to pay yourself the most.

I'd be happier with a system that couldn't be gamed by company directors and people rich enough to afford clever accountants

I'd be even happier with a system where someone couldn't find a way to bend the rules in the artificial ways that have been described in this thread.

I've probably paid more tax over the years than most of the people in this thread. I've never used an artificial means to reduce it. The tax I pay is the very reasonable price for living in a country with healthcare that's free when you need it, where all our children get a free education and where those members of the community who need a helping hand while they're down can get it when they need it. It's called civilisation.

 

[mr_cellophane]

I've highlighted the important word. You were in charge of the roster and you chose which shifts to work. So you chose to pay yourself the most.

Or by not wanting to do the late shift others chose to pay themselves the least.

where all our children get a free education

So you aren't in England or Wales then

 

[nickyboy]

I've highlighted the important word. You were in charge of the roster and you chose which shifts to work. So you chose to pay yourself the most.


I'd be even happier with a system where someone couldn't find a way to bend the rules in the artificial ways that have been described in this thread.

I've probably paid more tax over the years than most of the people in this thread. I've never used an artificial means to reduce it. The tax I pay is the very reasonable price for living in a country with healthcare that's free when you need it, where all our children get a free education and where those members of the community who need a helping hand while they're down can get it when they need it. It's called civilisation.

So you don't have an ISA? You don't make pension contributions before tax is calculated? Both of these are tax shielding devices designed to benefit the individual.

A large majority of the working population take advantage of certain tax planning opportunities. Whilst they may not be at the esoteric end of the scale like Venture Capital Trusts and Seed Equity Investment Schemes they're just another form of planning for tax mitigation

I personally see no difference between someone using an ISA and another person using a more esoteric but similarly legal tax planning device.

 

[vickster]

Or by not wanting to do the late shift others chose to pay themselves the least.


So you aren't in England or Wales then

Education in England is free from age 4/5-18 surely, ie for all children?

 

[srw]

So you don't have an ISA? You don't make pension contributions before tax is calculated? Both of these are tax shielding devices designed to benefit the individual.

I have ISAs. Any future pension contributions I make would effectively be taxed at nearly 100%, so I don't make any.

Both ISAs and pensions have specific policy aims. The tax minimisations discussed in this thread are artificial, have no policy aims and are beyond what ministers and civil servants intended as they designed policy.

 

[srw]

Or by not wanting to do the late shift others chose to pay themselves the

Or, as likely, didn't want to rock the boat by standing up to the person who chose the rota and snaffled all the best GIFs for himself.