Definition
Tax avoidance is the legal usage of the tax regime in a single territory to one’s own advantage to reduce the amount of tax that is payable by means that are within the law. Tax sheltering is very similar, although unlike tax avoidance tax sheltering is not necessarily legal. Tax havens are jurisdictions which facilitate reduced taxes.
Tax Avoidance
What is ‘Tax Avoidance’
Tax avoidance is the use of legal methods to modify an individual’s financial situation to lower the amount of income tax owed. This is generally accomplished by claiming the permissible deductions and credits. This practice differs from tax evasion, which uses illegal methods, such as underreporting income to avoid paying taxes. Next Up Effective Tax Rate Tax Break Tax Deductible Interest IRS Publication 514
Explaining ‘Tax Avoidance’
Most taxpayers use some form of tax avoidance. For example, individuals who contribute to employer-sponsored retirement plans with pre-tax funds are engaging in tax avoidance because the amount of taxes paid on the funds when they are withdrawn in retirement is usually less than the amount the individual would owe. Furthermore, retirement plans allow taxpayers to defer paying taxes until a much later date, which allows their savings to grow at a faster rate.
Tax Avoidance Is Encouraged
Tax avoidance is built into the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), which spans more than 75,000 pages. Lawmakers have used the IRC to manipulate taxpayer behavior by offering tax credits, deductions and exemptions in various aspects of people’s lives including health care, saving and investing, education, energy use and other activities. The tax benefits available in qualified retirement plans are to promote self-sufficiency in retirement. The death benefit of a life insurance policy is exempted from taxes to encourage family protection. Capital gains are taxed at a lower rate to encourage more investments. Interest deductions on home mortgages foster more home ownership.
Tax Avoidance Complicates the Tax Code
The expanding use of tax avoidance in the tax code has led to it becoming one of the most complex tax codes in the world. Taxpayers spend billions of hours each year filing tax returns with much of that time used looking for ways to avoid paying higher taxes. Because the tax code is always changing, families have a difficult time making decisions about retirement, savings and education. Businesses especially suffer the consequences of an ever-evolving tax code that affects their hiring decisions and growth strategies. Since 2006, nearly 4,500 federal tax rule changes have been made to the tax code, most having to do with tax avoidance provisions.
Further Reading
- The economic effects of financial derivatives on corporate tax avoidance – www.sciencedirect.com [PDF]
- Corporate tax avoidance and firm value – www.mitpressjournals.org [PDF]
- Corporate governance, incentives, and tax avoidance – www.sciencedirect.com [PDF]
- Tax avoidance and the deadweight loss of the income tax – www.mitpressjournals.org [PDF]
- Corporate tax avoidance and high-powered incentives – www.sciencedirect.com [PDF]
- Long‐run corporate tax avoidance – meridian.allenpress.com [PDF]
- The social irresponsibility of corporate tax avoidance: Taking CSR to the bottom line – link.springer.com [PDF]
- Effect of tax avoidance and tax evasion on personal income tax administration in Nigeria – www.worldscholars.org [PDF]
- Corporate ownership, governance and tax avoidance: An interactive effects – repo.uum.edu.my [PDF]
