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I'm not sure that's really feasible for two reasons. 1) How do you know it's a loophole. Sure, there's probably some instances where it's pretty obvious what
by Verdex 8y ago
I'm not sure that's really feasible for two reasons.
1) How do you know it's a loophole. Sure, there's probably some instances where it's pretty obvious what you're doing is a loophole. But others require you to be up-to-date on economic and political debates as well as being extremely well read in the tax law. Similarly, half of the people who signed the loophole into law may consider it not a loophole and the other half might consider it to be a loophole. In general there's no way to know.
2) What if part of the tax law was signed into law specifically as a favor to a corporate entity who funded a political candidate, but disguised with complicated language so it's not obvious who is getting the favor. In this instance realizing that you qualify for the tax reduction would be considered a loophole by the shady politician that created the law ... or a bonus because it will obfuscate who the kickback is going to.
In case 1), I feel a little bit uncomfortable with calling someone's action unethical when it depends on their ability to understand a complicated law AND the economic scenario and theory behind the law AND the minds of ALL politicians involved with making the law.
In case 2), I actively want everyone to abuse loopholes created for this purpose as much as possible. It's like watching someone burn themselves on a stove. If a politician is doing this sort of thing, I want it to blow up in their face so they learn not to try to do such things in the future.
- baddox 8y ago> Sure, there's probably some instances where it's pretty obvious what you're doing is a loophole. I don't know if it's that simple. If we define a loophole as a tax exemption that was not intended to be used in a certain way by the lawmakers, then I don't think it's fair to call something a loophole if it has been widely known about and used for many years. It's on the lawmakers to clarify their intentions with new laws. That's literally their only job.