Re: black money
 

I can’t think of any job where you can’t earn black money on the side should you want to. Can you enlighten us?

Re: black money
 

I'm talking about people that cannot exploit their trade/job to earn money on the side, unlike a self employed builder/plumber/lecccy, or what ever, that can accept cash and not put it through the books. I guess you are talking about someone that does something else in their free time? For instance the last 20 years I spent working on an oil refinery, so no way I could start up an oil refinery in my spare time and get paid cash for it and not declare it! I suppose I could maybe do something totally unrelated on the weekends, but I think we are talking about different things. Anyone working in an office, factory, nurse etc, no way can they do their work and not pay tax on it. But anyone that comes to my house to do a job, provided I don't want a vat receipt and pay him cash, chances are he won't declare it, that's what I understand by working on the black

Re: black money
 

If you ask me, if every country in the world lost it's government overnight and state control was no more I don't that Spain would even notice!

They have succesful, huge anarchist communities in their political history and how wonderful that is.

For property I believe there are even published guidelines for how much is 'acceptable' to be done on the black.

And as for 20% unemployment, that's just not happening. If people are struggling a bit they come out of the system and carry on as normal. I think the view of government here is similar to how the British view red nose day.

Ste.

Re: black money
 

Hallelujah, you’ve sussed how it works! When you come home from the oil refinery after your eight-hour stint, and you haven’t earned enough money to pay for your wife’s fur coat, you’ll have to do some work on the side, black money that you don’t pay tax on, to keep her warm.

That’s what the rest of the world is doing too.

The Spanish police are poorly paid and most of them do a bit of moonlighting, they have to, just to pay the bills. I’ve had a parking ticket from a local policeman and a few hours later he was waiting on the tables at his brother’s restaurant. I tried to negotiate over the tip I was leaving and found that it was worse than haggling over a carpet with a lookie-lookie man.

Re: black money
 

Without various forms of black money the Costa del Sol as its known today would hardly even exist.
Maybe Costa Negra would be a more appropriate title,... as against the Costa Blanca and all those nice honest folk who helped develop that nice little earner...;)....:rofl:

Re: black money
 

I'm well aware how it works, but the suggestion was that everyone is at it. Not so, well I don't know of any friends, family or neighbours that do any work on the side. Of course I've paid tradesmen cash, and I'm not really too concerned whether they declare it or not, but "everybody" might be at it where you are, I can assure it's not the case everywhere.

Re: black money
 

Neither do I in Spain

Re: black money
 

And very, very naughty. However if you already have the money in a spanish bank account they don't blink twice if you just walk in and ask to withdraw the odd €10k in folding provided you have an NIE and a photo I.D. ... it's just business as usual. Compare that with daring to ask your home branch of a british bank for anything over a grand or so and you get the third degree.

Re: black money
 

Ive heard, although not sure if it's true, that if you withdraw more than €3k in Spain, the tax man likes to know where its going, i.e. it can be reported to the Hacienda

Re: black money
 

Exactly. Anything over a couple of thousand euros cash has to be ordered at most banks now. And a reason given for its release

I've had money delayed from clients because the tax men were looking into the transaction.

Also, the briefcases of cash is a phenomenom of a quite a few years ago when there was a huge discrepency between the official valuation of the property and how much someone paid for it. Paying a proportion in cash saved tax on both sides and the tax office was none the wiser.

Now that the official valuations are usually above the price a house will sell for then it is much harder to claim a very low house price to the tax man. And if you do, expect them to be checking your bank account details, given that there are so few properties being sold nowadays, they'll have the time to do so!

Re: black money
 

[QUOTE=HBG;8334174]
The Spanish police are poorly paid and most of them do a bit of moonlighting, they have to, just to pay the bills. QUOTE]

You are wrong -the spanish police, along with most other public sector workers in spain, are paid extremely well!!
As a matter of fact, along with firemen, nurses, doctors, teachers and many more, they are overpaid for the amount of work they do.

If they are working overtime its because they are greedy. the spanish absolutely love money. don't ever forget that.

My OH, a funcionario is probably the lowest paid of them all, and his salary is impressive (compared to average)!!

Re: black money
 

[QUOTE=avocados;8335726]Yes I was doubting that little annecdote.

I while ago I was on here telling people that teachers get paid very well in Spain and people wouldnt believe me.

Then I saw in the British news a campaign to increase teachers salaries and a politicion said something like "there is no evidence that countries who pay their teachers better, like Spain, have a better quality of teaching"

I think a lot of posters on this forum just want to play to their outdated and biggoted immage of a Spaniard - poor, uneducated and grateful for rich Mr ExPat

Re: black money
 

I was asked a reason for a good sized withdrawel a couple of years ago, got a strange look when I said I wanted some new shoes :D. My business is my business and not theirs.

Re: black money
 

:rofl:

True. And if you have nothing to hide you can say what you like to them

Re: black money
 

I had to sign a form when I withdrew 25,000 euro from my spanish bank (last year). Think it is for the Bank of Spain. If you pay in more than 6000 euro there is also a B of S form to be filled in. Not so easy as it used to be. Cricketman is correct re. the house values, a lot more rigid now.

The "black" is still a big feature though. My garage always asks do you want to pay IVA or not....in other words give me the cash:rofl: