> Often a contractor/landscaper will give a nice discount (like 10%) if you pay them in cash. I assume they’re avoiding taxes but it’s none of my business. In

> Often a contractor/landscaper will give a nice discount (like 10%) if you pay them in cash. I assume they’re avoiding taxes but it’s none of my business. In comparison to what ? In comparison to bank transfer, then yes, maybe there's "funny business" going on. In comparison to card payment, then probably not. The "problem" with card payments from a small business perspective is three-fold: 1. You take a cashflow hit. Card companies typically sit on the cash for 5–7 days before allowing you to withdraw. 2. You take a fees hit, typically 1–2%, but AMEX are famous about charging more ! And that's just the transaction fee, if you are dealing with currency conversion then add a few percent extra... 3. The fraud risk (you do the job, someone pays on a card ... few weeks later, the card company claws the money back from you because either it wasn't their card or they did a fraudulent chargeback) Which is why small businesses tend to prefer the irrevocable nature of bank transfers. Yes you could say cash is technically irrevocable too, but it comes with other risks for the small business (counterfeit notes, employees taking from the till etc.etc.)