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Underground Contractors
Can Cost You Everything! |
(NC)-With the home renovation season upon us, you might
be thinking of hiring a contractor. There are many
reputable contractors in your community ready to do the
work and willing to sign a contract to make sure both
parties are satisfied when the job is done and protected
if something goes wrong.
Not all
contractors play by the same rules though, and if you
get stung by one of these underground contractors, you
could lose everything - your peace of mind, your
savings, and even your home.
 Sound
serious? It is. As the owner of the property where the
work is taking place, you are legally responsible and
liable for any damages or injuries that occur on your
property, regardless if someone else is doing the work.
If that contractor becomes injured, or causes a
life-threatening hazard due to sloppy work, you are the
one legally responsible, and you can be sued. A
professional contractor is covered by his own liability
insurance.
Without
a paper trail - no contract, no warranty, no estimate or
invoice - there is absolutely no record that the work
was ever done and by whom or that your payment ever took
place.
If you
participate in the underground economy, whether as a
buyer or a seller, not only are you putting your own
safety at risk, you are taking away tax dollars from the
health care system, and government pensions plans to
name a couple.
Evading
taxes is unfair to taxpayers and it's illegal. The
Canada Revenue Agency has more than 1,200 full-time
employees dedicated to catching these underground
entrepreneurs, and once they "get their man or woman",
the result can be hefty fines or even jail time.
If you
want to do some homework on the issue, check out the
Taxpayer Alert section of the agency's website at
www.cra.gc.ca, then click on the Underground Economy
link.
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