Tax Evasion

Tax evasion refers to illegal acts that reduce a government's revenues. These behaviors include subterfuge, concealment, and acts of deceit regarding income and profits. It differs from tax avoidance in that the latter involves such legal strategies as realizing losses, deferral of income, and allowable tax shelters, and while some may construe these to be immoral, they are not illegal. Tax evasion is a concern to people in many countries, because it can involve substantial inequities and may result in losses of expected and much-needed government revenue, which is especially harmful to developing countries. These inequalities mean that the tax burden is borne by local corporate entities with weak political ties and also by the local citizenry. Of course, this can be devastating to the ...