ESL Podcast 972 - Paying an Employee Under the Table

to go over the books - to review financial documents for a business

When you go over the books, let me know if you see any sudden increase in expenses.

staff - employees; the group of people who work for an organization

What percentage of your staff has a graduate degree in business?

to be accounted for - to be included, considered, and addressed

Why weren't any of students accounted for on the first day of school?

under the table - without reporting something to the government, especially when paying someone illegally

We can save a lot of money if we pay for the home renovation under the table.

to get busted - to get caught by the authorities or the police for one's illegal actions or for breaking the rules

What will happen if you cheat on the exam and then get busted?

tax evasion - the practice of purposefully not paying some or all of the money one owes to the government

If you make an innocent mistake on your tax return, can you still be accused of tax evasion?

no one will be the wiser - a phrase meaning that nobody will know what happened and one's actions will remain a secret

They thought that if they had a big party at their parents' house, they could clean up the mess and no one would be the wiser.

off the books - secretly, with no records or reports made and with nothing written down

Can we keep this transaction off the books, so nobody ever knows who bought the drugs?

minimum wage - the minimum amount of money that can be paid to someone for each hour of work, established by law

Increasing the minimum wage would help people who are working two or more jobs just to pay the rent and for food.

to report (one's) income - to provide information to the government about how much money one has made, so that the government can receive a percentage of that amount in taxes

Do you have to report your income to the state, or only to the federal government?

to come out ahead - to secure some advantage or profit; to receive a profit after all expenses are paid

We had pretty good sales, but if we consider all the expenses, we barely came out ahead.

ramification - consequence; something that results from a particular action or decision

Teenagers often aren't aware of all the ramifications of their actions early in life.

up the creek - in a very difficult, challenging, and uncomfortable situation; with a lot of problems

When James and his wife lost their jobs in the same week, the family was up the creek.

to turn a blind eye - to pretend something does not exist or has not happened; to ignore something, especially an unpleasant thing

It's not right to turn a blind eye to people who are starving to death.

on (one's) own - alone; doing something without help, support, or assistance from others

This is the last time I'm helping you. Next time, you're on your own.

to audit - to examine the financial records of a person or organization and determine whether they are complete, truthful, and in compliance with the law

People who are self-employed are more likely to be audited than people who work for a company.