The majority of Canadians admit they've done cash deals in order to dodge the taxman — and most don't see anything wrong with it, a new survey reveals.

The Leger Marketing poll found about half of respondents (55%) said they would pay cash to a contractor to avoid paying sales tax.

Men were more likely than women to try to cut an under-the-table deal: 50% compared with 35%.

Among older Canadians, age 65 and up, 43% said it's wrong to do so, but just 17% of people between the ages of 18 and 34 agreed.

A majority of those polled (69%) also think bartered or traded items shouldn't have to be reported on tax returns, and 51% said tips earned by service people should be tax-exempt.

H&R Block Canada commissioned the poll, which was conducted online from July 30 to Aug. 1, with 1,500 Canadians 18 or older.

A probability sample of the same size would yield a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.