Tax Avoidance vs. Tax Evasion

Paying Taxes - Taxes are money taken from citizens that is used to fund the nation. Federal, state, local governments collect taxes from the citizens to be able to keep those governments and schools running, hiring police officers and firefighters to protect, and transportation (roads, trains, buses). If a citizen was to avoid paying taxes, they could possibly face jail time or monumental fines.

People do not enjoy talking about taxes because they are too political, confusing, and depressing. It is no secret that the American tax code is a mess and something many economists describe as too broken to fix. Despite this, politicians have never stopped from trying to “fix” the code, yet they have had very little success. The U.S. Government’s tax code currently comprises “more than 67,000 pages of complexities” (Boortz, Linder, & Woodall 14). The Americans for Fair Taxation (AFFT) was founded in 1995 with one goal: create the simplest and best tax reform plan that would work in the modern market and economy. The AFFT’s best solution was a bill which they promptly called the FairTax.

I can see why people would go for getting federal income tax deductions if they contribute to charity. Assumingly, if you're at the age to pay taxes you are independent and outside of the school's influence. However, offering things like bonus points to students plants the wrong idea in their mind of how a donation works. These students need to be taught that they shouldn't expect everything to be handed to them just because they did a good deed.

Stanton Delaplane once joked about the IRS, saying he heard it had suggested a simplified tax form with only one question: How much money did you make last year? The IRS response was, "Mail it in"." Thank goodness, our taxes haven 't gotten quite that bad. It is true though, that the majority of Americans, most of us included, have to bite the

With the advancements in the globalization of the economy, corporations are finding more ways to avoid the extraordinary tax rates set in place of The United States Of America. With the loss of revenue from large companies dodging taxes the government must make up for the loss by either raising taxes or changing the tax code. A recent company to avoid american taxes is Johnson Controls, a company that “…would not exist as it is today but for American taxpayers, who paid $80 billion in 2008…”(The Editorial Board). This use of American resources to get through tough times, and run to another county during an economic incline is an act that calls for reform in the American tax system. However congress has not passed any legislation to fix the

"The most perennially political issues in the United States is the question of how much Americans should be taxed. Indeed, discounted over taxes was one of the major motivating factors in the revolution that established the United States as an independent nation"("Extending Tax Cuts", 1). Since taxes are one of the biggest topics in politics, there is always going to be two sides of the subject, and Taxes will always strike controversy in our country. The topic of having the rich pay more in tax has a deep history to consider, and there will always be both supporters and critics who continue to debate this topic.

With the presidential elections coming up, different tax policies are being debated between the candidates. Whether it is proposed by a Democratic or a Republican presidential candidate, there have been many possible solutions presented on how to reform the current tax code. Focusing specifically on four candidates, two from the Democratic Party, and two from the Republican Party, I will compare and contrast their respective tax proposals. While the Democratic candidates generally agree with President Obama’s current tax code, all four candidates are looking to reform it in some way in order to, in their own eyes, better the current tax code affecting today’s citizens.

“I love paying my income tax! This tax system is so easy to understand!” said no United States citizen, ever. No one has ever said this because it is highly unlikely that no one actually enjoys struggling with the complexity of the current income tax system in the United States. The concept of contributing to the good of the community, county, state, and nation through taxation is not new, nor is it generally opposed by American citizens. Most tax paying citizens do not take issue with paying for police and fire protection, roads, and national security with tax dollars. However, what they do take issue with is the fact that the current tax code is a complicated nightmare. It is a bureaucratic mess of rules, regulations, and perhaps even infringements upon personal rights. Because of the complexity of the current tax code, the United States should implement a flat tax system for personal and corporate income tax to ensure consistent and fair taxation and to render the tax code as more user-friendly.

The alternative minimum tax (AMT) was created to prevent high income level individuals from using deductions and credits to avoid paying federal income taxes (Tritz, 2015). Due to inflation AMT now spreads to include more individuals beyond the highest-income taxpayers and straying from its original objective. Consequently, AMT has affected the economy by over-complicating the already complex tax code, creating an additional obligation for taxpayers, and burdening more taxpayers than its original intention. This relates to our course content, which includes the calculation of AMT, the differences between AMT and TMT, the differences between AMT and the regular tax rate, and disallowance rules under AMT.

There is an ominous shadow hanging over the American people threatening to consume our freedoms, wealth, and the very sanity that holds our nation together. America is a nation born from revolution against unjust taxation from a government that does not hear the voice of those who pay the taxes. Today this nation is threatened by the same oppression that incited a revolution and gave birth to one of the greatest democracies in history of the world. The accumulated debt of America and its people is without rival in the modern world, and threatens to tear this nation apart. The only way to deal with the rising debt of a nation is to tax its people, like the Federal Income Tax. Many question the Federal income tax, asking if this is a

While the concepts, statistics, and conclusions Noah raises are vitally important to the overall message of the book, it could never achieve critical acclaim without its accessibility to the everyday reader. While many of the concepts seem above readers’ heads, Noah’s direct, clear, and concise writing style ensures that he will not alienate an audience uninformed about the nuances of the US tax code.

Taxation surrounds us in the world. Individuals fear tax, and a majority of the items we use and need are taxed. Even on topics such as Celebrities and the Olympics, taxation manages to find its way to still come up.

Also many people can find ways around taxes, both legal and illegal, so they don't pay as much as they should be.

The individual income tax is complicated, and it violates transparency standards through created loopholes (or tax preferences) which allow some to pay less than their fair share of taxes (Mikesell, 2011). In 2005, more than 70 percent of individuals filing taxes had tax preparers complete their returns because of confusing rules and regulations that could penalize taxpayers for qualifying for certain legal tax preferences (Mikesell, 2011). This transparency problem exists because citizens are really unaware of how to determine their tax liability except at the end of the year. Income taxes are collected annually through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and there are constant complaints about the IRS not willing to assist taxpayers

The idea that morally dubious goals may be legitimate inside capitalism will be discussed in light of a tax avoidance case study. Apple, a multinational technology company, has avoided paying its fair amount of income tax for years. This paper will consider the structural embeddedness of Apple’s legitimised goal—the maximisation of profit—through the ‘Double Irish Dutch sandwich’ tax haven model. Durkheim’s theory of collective conscience was used in explaining the legitimisation of the company’s profits-driven goal, and how its amorality becomes apparent outside the economical sphere. This paper will also discuss the interconnected nature of the harm and benefits in the deal made between Ireland and Apple. The association between legitimations of Apple’s conduct and its socially challenging behaviour has been analysed to be ambiguous in the letter of the law. The conclusion will shed light on the morally grey area of a company’s responsibility to its shareholders versus the needs of the community.