What do you think about this argument?

It shouldn’t bother you that some people are obscenely wealthy (billionaires) because they earned it, that’s their money, and they should spend or save it however they want to. But government waste? That should really piss you off because that’s your money!

Disclaimer: I disagree with the sentiment, but at the moment I can’t seem to think of a valid rebuttal.

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newjaninev2 · 56-60, F

“No man in this country is under the smallest obligation, moral or other, so to arrange his legal relations to his business or to his property as to enable the Inland Revenue to put the largest possible shovel into his stores.”
(Lord Clyde, Ayrshire Pullman Motor Services and Ritchie v. IRC (1929))

That's an argument made during a court case, so it's not a legal ruling, but it's an argument with which I agree (this is one of the few areas where Warren Buffett and I part company).

I view tax avoidance not as a gain but as the avoidance of a loss, and I consult very competent people to help me avoid taxes every year. After all, you put the best possible locks on your house, right?

zonavar68 · 56-60, M

@newjaninev2 Absolutely it's avoidance of a loss! That's precisely why rich people scramble to utilise their wealth to hide it and minimise tax exposure. Something most regular people can't do. And because of that, regular people lose more so rich people don't have to incur losses and 'gain' from regular people incuring those losses instead. Root capitalism at work.

newjaninev2 · 56-60, F

@zonavar68 A tax official of note once said to me that both the very poor and the very wealthy paid only a small percentage of the total tax take, and that the overall tax burden fell squarely on the average joe (he was American). The impoverished do not have anything that can be assessed for taxation, and the wealthy make arrangements to appear as if they have nothing that can be assessed for taxation. Those with a spouse, 2.4 children, a mortgaged house, a median income derived from steady employment or a small business, and so forth, have nowhere to hide.

When it comes to being plucked, they offer the optimal amount of feathers for the least amount of squawking.

He also said that tax officials recognise that there are two tax rates that yield exactly the same amount: 0% and 100%

Everything between those two rates is negotiable.

_________________

Of course, while tax avoidance is legal, rather good fun, and quite satisfying, there is no way I would ever stray into the fool's game of tax evasion.

Perhaps someone should have explained the difference to Al Capone 😀