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this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2024
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Yup, it's tax avoidance, not tax evasion. It's morally wrong especially because he has the power to influence the system, but it's not legally wrong.
It's not morally wrong. In the same way that some of us avoid taxes through donating to charity, or putting money into a pension, is that morally wrong?
Painting it as a moral question relies on the morals of one of the most ruthless businessmen of the last two decades. Paint it as a legal question instead, and push for legislation to stop billionaires from avoiding enough tax to feed hundreds of families for years...
Brb, putting $600M in my 401k this year
I don't think you (or others in this thread) get the point. I don't know if it's an age or a naivety thing, but shit, even Reddit of all places understands this shit...
Telling a billionaire cunt that happily destroys industries and treats his own employees like shit to act "morally" will do nothing. Bezos saving millions is probably news to him too, because he's not moving tens of zeroes around his online banking account like us plebs. He's got people managing his money, and they're just doing what they're paid to do - manage wealth optimally.
Painting it as a moral problem is exactly what right-wing politicians want. We've seen it plenty of times in the UK where people get called out for dodging taxes by politicians, using the loopholes they allow, create, and promote.
If you want to stop this kind of practice, you need to close these opportunities. Joke all you want, but when you put money into a retirement fund, you're probably avoiding tax too. Is that a moral failing on your part? While it's in no way equivalent to Bezos, it does point to the fact that tax avoidance schemes exist because the powers that be put them there. They are dedicated systems that should be scrutinised instead.
Governments allow tax deductions or credits for activities they want to encourage, like the ones you listed. Using those is not tax avoidance at all. In this case, he's changing jurisdictions to avoid taxes, a completely different situation.
This isn't a new thing. Many countries have tax havens or areas where rich people are told to "base" themselves in order to move wealth.
It is 100% tax avoidance, and it exists because governments/states allow it, and publicise the ability to move funds while not actually "being" in that place.
But the same goes for what we all do with retirement funds/giving money to charity. Saying it isn't is just pushing semantics to separate what normies do as opposed to the rich.
Those are two very different things, which I think you're failing to see. At least where I am in Canada, donating to charity doesn't eliminate the tax on that income but only reduces it. Retirement contributions are deducted now but will be taxed when they're withdrawn. This encourages people to support themselves in retirement instead of being seniors on welfare.
The big difference is tax havens are generally encouraging people to move their wealth after earning it elsewhere. The only benefit they gain is increasing their tax base by undercutting other jurisdictions.
Charity & Retirement contributions are assumed to be on income earned in the jurisdiction and encourage good behaviour. Some other tax mechanisms (like preferring dividend income over employment income) are harder to defend but are still trying to an encourage behaviour (like investment of wealth to grow the economy instead of simply hording it/spending it frivolously). While there might be cons to these mechanisms, both the pros and the cons stay within the jurisdiction. Tax havens internalize the benefits while externalizing the harms.