> meaning the owner does not report all the gross revenue and the spends the cash in a way that it's not traceable back to them.
Exactly. For example taking money and buying expensive restaurant meals or liquor is not traceable. Or jewelry (which can be sold later). Also having home renovations whereby paying part by check and the rest under the table is also not (easily) traceable. Or paying employees in cash. I also don't buy into the idea that in actual practice banks are going out and seeing how many customers they have at their place of business other than in a cursory way by chance. Also whether they are writing checks or not, small businesses often operate out of multiple bank accounts. They could be transferring the money to an account that they use to write checks or even legitimately making deposits into multiple accounts.
Exactly. For example taking money and buying expensive restaurant meals or liquor is not traceable. Or jewelry (which can be sold later). Also having home renovations whereby paying part by check and the rest under the table is also not (easily) traceable. Or paying employees in cash. I also don't buy into the idea that in actual practice banks are going out and seeing how many customers they have at their place of business other than in a cursory way by chance. Also whether they are writing checks or not, small businesses often operate out of multiple bank accounts. They could be transferring the money to an account that they use to write checks or even legitimately making deposits into multiple accounts.