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Sure, call tax evasion tax evasion, but AFAIK Kamprad wasn't doing it. Authorities go very hard against tax evasion, the illegal thing. Tax avoidance is by defi
by ptaipale 9y ago
Sure, call tax evasion tax evasion, but AFAIK Kamprad wasn't doing it. Authorities go very hard against tax evasion, the illegal thing. Tax avoidance is by definition things that are legal, not tax evasion.
- TheOtherHobbes 9y agoIn fact authorities are pretty lenient on tax evasion by the hyper-rich. The number of convictions and jail sentences isn't zero, but given the sums involved it's pitifully low. This is partly a resource problem. If you can pay advisors to create an impenetrable network of shell companies through which money disappears five levels down, you can pay lawyers to defend you if something goes wrong. The authorities are far more likely to go after - and jail - sole traders, smaller SMEs and consultants for five or six figure transgressions than near-billionaires with six, seven, or eight figure creative accounting.
- ptaipale 9y agoIt's not only relevant what the sums involved are. It is very relevant whether laws are broken, and how clear the lawbreaking is. Thus you can have large sums involved, but may find out that law wasn't broken, so there is no conviction. This is as it should be.
- TeMPOraL 9y agoI think there are also significant risks involved when facing the hyper-rich. SMEs are a dime a dozen. If some get sacked for skirting or breaking the rules, nobody cares. But if you piss off a large megacorp enough to make it e.g. build its new factory elsewhere, or move its business away entirely, then suddenly your political career is on the line.