It amazes me

that people post jobs online withe the promise of payments in cash. Yes, these are aimed at members of the frum community, but still it is an open advertisement that seems to promote tax evasion. Direct quote: "Good hourly pay (roughly $11/hr starting) cash, weekly." While listing doesn't identify the store, it is identified as Cedarhurst and includes a phone number and first name, which gives me a pretty good idea which one it is.

Comments

Chaim B. said…
Would I be naive to think that the owner submits a 1099 for that cash and the recipient files takes?

Would I be cynical to suspect that were the business audited and the owners facing prosecution we would have yet another legal defense fund spring up in the community to perform the "chessed" of bailing them out?
Orthonomics said…
Once you walk in the store, you are almost always a payroll employee. But, it wouldn't be the first time a 1099 gets filed. I can think of a case where that happened and it threw the family into quite a financial spin. Not at all nice, even if you don't "hold by" the laws of the land.
Ariella's blog said…
My husband held a 1099 job for a few months. It was not his choice but the employer's. So he had to estimate how much tax would be due and send in a fairly hefty payment for that quarter. But I really think that for this job, the person hiring assumes that the employee would be happy to be paid "under the table" because she will not include that amount in her income and file to make payments. Otherwise why boast of "cash" as if it were a fringe benefit? Assuming the person has a bank at which she can deposit and cash her checks, it wouldn't really help her to carry home the cash unless she wanted to hide the income.
Anonymous said…
The fascination between Orthodox Jews and "under-the-table" payments is extraordinary.
I guess it's a result of Jews always wanting to be the "hocker" who can get things cheaper. However, when they consider the disparity between claiming to be "religious and honest" and the way they cheat all their fellow Americans, they most get headaches.
If they don't like the amount of money comes out of their paychecks in taxes, they should call their representatives and have the laws changed.
Ariella's blog said…
I posted this on a couple of LinkedIn group discussions. 2 out of 3 of the responses on the Ezra group seemed to think there is nothing wrong with such a post. Here the first of the 2 (second to follow in another comment):
from Mark Lazarus: There is nothing inherently illegal about paying or being paid in cash. The onus is on the recipient to report the income. The employer might have reporting responsibilities, too. Speak to your accountant for details.
Ariella's blog said…
Mark Edelstein MBA wrote: I'm not really sure how this fits in with the Project Ezra mission.

What are you so amazed by?

If you think about it:

How is this ad worse than people (everyone) who pays their help - in cash and patronize stores and restaurants who hire illegal people and pay cash?
Ariella's blog said…
My response to the previous comment is: "I'm not really sure how this fits in with the Project Ezra mission. " Interesting that you should say that.
"What are you so amazed by? " I am not amazed that they do it but that they advertise the fact. Many people do things they should not, but generally they have the sense to keep it private.

"How is this ad worse than people (everyone) who pays their help - in cash and patronize stores and restaurants who hire illegal people and pay cash? "
Certainly, those who hire illegal people are breaking more laws, exploiting people, and depriving people who have a legal right to work of a job. But the fact that some people may break more laws does not mean that it does not matter. That type of attitude leads to greater and greater schemes to defraud the government until it explodes in a great, public chilul Hashem.

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