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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Solon who wrote (53623)	11/17/2006 7:24:19 PM
From: ManyMoose	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 90947

Everybody who files a tax return practices tax avoidance. It's called The Standard Deduction. Home owners get to avoid taxes on the income that they spend on their mortgage interest. Patients get to avoid taxes on income they spend on medical care, over and above a minimum limit. There's no fine line at all. It's perfectly clear, legal, and everybody does it right on their tax return. No exceptions. Avoiding taxes by concealing income or deducting more than the legal amount is a different issue and is a serious fraud. How do they do it in Canada?

To: Solon who wrote (53623)	11/17/2006 7:27:02 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 90947

Here is some examples of the difference - Tax evasion - Fraudulently reporting lower income than you actual income. Set up illegal tax shelters to hide income. Tax avoidance - Holding on to stocks to delay reporting and paying realized capital gains. Charitable deductions. Putting money in a tax sheltered IRA or 401K. Receiving compensation for employment in untaxed benefits such as health insurance rather than as taxable cash income. I don't really think most cases of either are a matter of fine lines for lawyers to argue over. But maybe I don't really disagree. There is a border between them that can be such a fine line. My point is merely that "tax avoidance" isn't limited to such borderline activities, but also includes clearly legal and ethical actions.