There is no such thing as tax avoidance

We fear that MPs are suffering from a logical failure here:

However, a recent report by an All-party Parliamentary Group is attempting to dispel this as a myth. Some politicians have also attempted to confuse the position by categorising tax planning between acceptable tax planning and unacceptable tax avoidance, despite there being no legal distinction between the two.

This simply doesn’t make sense. There is indeed a thing called tax evasion, by definition it is illegal. There is also tax planning, paying the amount the law demands. Then there are attempts at tax avoidance. But while people may attempt a dodge or three upon examination these become either illegal - tax evasion - or legal - tax planning.

There is therefore no such thing as tax avoidance, there is only the attempt to avoid taxes. This is indeed a very different thing. It also means that there need be no change in any prosecution policy because if people evade tax then that is, by our very definition, already illegal and something that can be prosecuted.

There’s an interesting example of this right here:

The APPG report has been prepared in conjunction with Tax Watch

Julian Richer funds Tax Watch. Julian Richer sold his business, Richer Sounds, for vast piles of money and paid not a bean in capital gains tax. Entirely, wholly and absolutely legally. The company was sold to an employee trust, public policy has been to encourage such actions by making the receipts from having done so free of those taxes. Those who follow the law to the jot and tittle should not be put in fear of the law now, should they?