How much did that taxi really cost you?
Taking you for a ride. Many employees use taxis for work-related journeys. Usually, they pay for the service personally and then claim the amount back as a business expense. However, according to recent research by Spendvision, it seems that many are playing the system in order to make a quick buck or two.
Hidden cash “perks”. Top of the taxi scam list is “requesting a blank receipt from the driver”. 23% of those questioned admitted to doing this. That’s because it allows employees to add on a few extra pounds to the real total before it’s submitted to you. Of course, if they’ve paid by cash - which nearly 60% do - you’ve no way of confirming their actual outlay. In addition, some employees will submit a taxi receipt when no such journey was taken at all. For example, we heard about one employee who used to get a lift to the airport from his wife, but could extract more cash for the journey simply by going down the taxi fare route.
Tip. If your staff regularly travel by taxi for work-related purposes, it may be advisable to have an account with a local firm. That way, you’ll be properly invoiced for all of their journeys. Alternatively, you could advise staff that you’ll be carrying out random spot checks on submitted taxi receipts. This step should help deter inflated/false claims.
Create your profile to unlock this advice and many more.