More like: robber has $1000 to his name, robs the liquor store for $500; avoids criminal charges by paying $750 restitution. (The article mentioned half of the

More like: robber has $1000 to his name, robs the liquor store for $500; avoids criminal charges by paying $750 restitution. (The article mentioned half of the account balance, not half of the amount of taxes owed.) But the real difference is that while robbing a liquor store is universally viewed as unethical; that isn't the case with tax evasion. Many people (including, ironically, the founders of the USA, who seceded from the British over taxation) believe that taxes are unethical, and using every loophole and trick in the book to minimize taxes is both ethical and smart.