Tax dodging is entirely legal. Eg spend on business consumable this year as a tax expense to lower taxable income and avoid some tax this year. Tax evasion is t

Tax dodging is entirely legal. Eg spend on business consumable this year as a tax expense to lower taxable income and avoid some tax this year. Tax evasion is the same sort of thing, but not legal which is why I mentioned both. Which are legal and which are not is entirely unclear, the wealthy and large co.s employ lawyers and accountants to run cases tying up the legal system at vast expense when caught. Sometimes they're not guilty (at least of the charges brought) too. If you bring a lawyer they'll bring 50. Then hire yours. You've seen this, it's uncontraversial that it happens and it's entirely legal. Moral? Desirable? That's up to you. It's difficult to fight tax evasion but rather important unless you want to give up on a system of taxation altogether, which has issues. When you look at an entity with a large income and very little tax paid you know it's one or both of tax evasion and tax avoidance. Apple. Evasion or avoidance? Which is a fancy way of asking "Is what they're doing actually legal? I can't do that, why can they?" Trump doesn't pay tax because he inherited a billion dollars and thinks he's smart. I know a lot of people who really are /very/ smart, who didn't inherit a billion dollars who pay their tax. They can't decide not to like Trump did. Rule of law. Equality before the law. Sure. Precisely. So what should the law be? What should the tax system be designed to achieve? What are the consequences of each particular trade-off you consider? Is there some new and better way worth considering or is it just hype to disaster? And now we're at the starting point of a sensible discussion about tax policy.