R. wrote:
> 3 months ago, an old friend of mine moved into my flat. I am a full
> time student who did not previously watch TV; he is a fully employed
> person who does watch TV.
>
> At that time, this friend had separated from his wife and was up to
> his head in debts, such as his house's mortgage which he is no longer
> staying in anymore. To give you an idea, I had to accept the 1 month's
> deposit in 2 instalments over 2 months.
>
> His finances are beginning to settle down and it looks like he can now
> afford to pay Council tax and the TV license. I want him to pay
> retrospectively for the 3 months he has been here, and any time
> thereafter.
>
> How do we contact the Council & TVLA to arrange this payment for the
> past 3 months, without tacitly admitting to tax evasion on either
> count?
>
> Alternatively, if we say he has very recently moved in and we want to
> pay effective immediately, would we avoid any negative connotations?
>
> Should I insist that he register/pay the Council tax & TV license in
> his name rather than mine?
>
> Thank you for any advice.
Re: council tax
You really don't want to lie. There's a risk that they'll find out
and you'll have committed tax evasion.
They're most interested in getting the money owed, so get the forms,
fill them in honestly and find out how much is owed. Since there's
clearly no interntion to avoid taxes here, this shouldn't cause too
much of a problem. They deal with a lot of people who are pretty
hopless at getting their act together with respect to taxes.
I'd suggest that he should pay council tax in his name.
Re: TV Licence
Just buy a licence in whoever's name. TVLA don't have as much power
as they like to suggest. They have no way to prove that you've been
watching TV without a licence in the past. They're certainly not going
to consider it worth their while to prosecute.
There's a difference here. The council is a public body. TVLA is a
private business. Councils tend not to care quite so much about the
cost/benefit ratio.
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