Topic: Am I a bad person if I manage to avoid taxes? (Hypothetical question) - page 6. (Read 1287 times)

The government of every country collects taxes from the people of that country. Salaries and allowances of various government officials and employees are paid with the money received from the public as tax. Different products are generally taxed at different rates. If a product is produced in the country, relatively less tax is levied on that product and if a product is imported from abroad, a higher amount of tax is levied on that product. Everything would have gone well if the government had taxed the common man according to his means. But now the amount of tax has been increased a lot in different countries. As a result, buyers have to think twice when buying a large product. Tax is compulsory for every people but the government should keep this tax within a certain limit.

It is not a fair practice, especially if everyone pays equal taxes regardless of income, and if legislators favor those with the highest incomes to pay even less taxes, which is really absurd. In addition, in my country VAT is one of the highest in the EU (25%), although for some things it is reduced to 13% - and because of this many people go to other countries and buy home supplies and food.


Maybe I generalized, but the east of the EU is much different from the West, and here you literally have to take care of yourself if you want to live a life worthy of man, and no one will ask you if you have to buy bread and milk today or if you will be hungry.

What I'm saying is that the elite (including politicians) are literally mocking those who live hard, and over 400,000 people have moved out of my country over the past 10 years and are now paying taxes elsewhere - what I would call perhaps the best tax avoidance someone can do to a corrupt government.

The taxes you pay are what is use to pay civil workers and the government aren't just taxing you to put in the pockets, in continents like Europe that things work as it was designed to work we have to pay our taxes to enable the society keep getting quality services. The taxes in most of the things you mentioned are at the minimum, the government don't just taxes outrageously, they make sure the taxes doesn't make you go bankrupt.

If the government weren't using the taxes money effectively then you might protest by avoiding the taxes but in Europe those taxes are been used effectively to pay the public servants therefore as good citizens we have to continue paying our taxes, that's our contribution to the government.

Yes, breaking a law means you're violating a rule that is considered a bad deed imagine killing a person is a crime and a bad thing to do right? Then it's the same when you're avoiding taxes. But if you're not too blind in the system since we all know that there's a corrupt in the government then maybe a small business doesn't already need a tax since a small profit is already for their living. Maybe it would be good to say this to rich people who really do this thing.

It is very important to always pay your taxes because morally it is the right thing to do. Paying your taxes is important for our country. Building its infrastructures, hospitals, public schools, and airports. If you do not pay your taxes, you could be breaking the law which could end up in paying fines or worse jail time for failure to pay your taxes.

Take for example the American actor Wesley Snipes, known for his movie role as the vampire hunter Blade. He made a lot of money but did not pay his takes. And as a result, he ended up facing jail time.

We do not consider how important it is to pay our taxes until we are in trouble. But we can avoid this problem by being good citizens of our country and contributing with our part to build a good strong nation.

but still that is against the law and tax evasion which you could get punished but in the eyes of law you are a bad person but for others not because we cant really blame you and others as we can't really see progress on it as well as a lot of corrupt official that are using our money, but again we slare obligated to pay the tax no matter what as it is a law. But even my self I haven't paying taxes for couple of years now but before that I've been paying tax for a long time

Well, my country Nigeria definitely does not meet the standard of Europe in every area, but certainly, with the way things have been so far, I personally can not consider someone who does not pay taxes a bad person, I myself started paying taxes since around 2010 when I started working, in 2017, I quit salary work to start up my own business, I continued paying taxes till 2020 when I had to stop, at a point, It was as if I was just throwing money away, paying taxes and yet, our currency kept losing value, I stopped paying taxes and till this day, I've not and will never bother about taxes except something changes in my country.

It is not about being a bad or a good person because you pay taxes or not, it is about losing privileges in some cases, freedom, that is why in some countries taxes are something of a sense of duty and if you do not comply they fine you or they put you in prison

I think that the solution to your moral situation is easy to solve, move to a country where the impositions are not so restrictive or tax, but surely that will bring social deficiencies to which you are used to. In any case, if you don't want to move you are left with the tricks that the accountants use to exempt taxes, there are, and sometimes they are worse than not paying taxes.
Anyway, it only can we do is pay taxes and it is not perfect, but for most of mortals is the least of their problems, sometimes.

Ethically for me it's quite simple. You are a customer and the government is the services' provider. If you are satisfied with their services, you should pay your taxes accordingly, because that is the fair thing to do. However, if the services aren't being efficient, if they don't execute what they promise to do, if they are corrupt, then you, as customer, will be in your right to deny them taxes, because it's like to go to a restaurant, order the most expensive meal and receive rotten food or the wrong meal in return.

Anyway, keep in mind I'm talking ethically, and not morally or by the rules of the game we are playing.

Well the tax laws are different across countries while it's mild in countries like mine it's very strick in other countries, some countries has a 40% tax rate which is very harsh, in honesty evading task is a crime regardless of if we think it's good or not you can be punished if you are caught doing so.

I would be brief about this in other to be a law abiding individual of a country you must always Respect and obey the laws and regulations guiding that country.

Oh men! This question is not only for Europe but also to my country in Africa and I also believe it is all over the world. What you have explained is what exactly happening in my country on the inflation aspect but the only difference between Europe and African countries is that, the taxation is not as the Europe. But our salaries still get exhausted from tax. The salaries are stagnant while the cost of living is increasing day and night.

There is another thing again, the country leaders would take loan from world banks IMF and tax the industries to pay back the loan so in return the industries will increase their goods to the wholesales and the wholesales in their own increase the price to the retails and finally the retails have not option to increase it to the customers. So we all pay tax from the womb.

In huge transactions? I doubt. You are still paying taxes with daily needs, or things you are buying on a daily basis. Sometimes taxation is unfair especially to corrupted countries. Taxation is a good idea but if it will just be gong to corrpted officials' pocket, I won't mind avoiding it. Perhaps in my country wherein there's a huge tax percentage to purchases especially expensive ones. Things are okay and all but no economic progress can be seen. The money should be used with government projects but happened to just be a cashcow to some bad individuals. This I guess guilts me more, than actually paying it. It is quite becoming a waste of money.

Of course it is a serious offense whom I will never support. The government of a country has to provide a proper solution of various problems. In this regard, If tax pay is discouraged the government of that country must face major economic problems. On the other hand, when an ordinary person pays 50 percent of his income, the tax provider must want to enjoy the maximum opportunity and the advantages from the country. It cannot even ignore his right. However, the OP mentions inflation but that is currently artificially consisted by Ukraine and Russia war. Due to the war, inflation has been affected in most countries of the world. I do not want to blame any government for this.

I do avoid some taxes and I don't feel like it makes me a bad person. Let's break it down, shall we?
Why would it make me bad? Is not paying people who are trying to cheat you unethical?

The way I see it, I'm being taxed for certain things that I do, and certain things that I don't do. There are fair and unfair taxes and it's our job to filter them and not be a mindless sheep who does as it's told. An example of just tax is tax that you pay when you use something, like a road tax that drivers have to pay, or a tax in the form of yearly car checkups that we all have to pay for, despite knowing it's in perfect shape.
I pay all my bills, I also pay VAT, which is literally a tax on everything you buy.

Unjust taxes? A great example is inheritance tax. Your relative died and left you something, it's your family wealth going from one person to the other. Why in hell would I pay part of it to the government, who did not help me to get it and now wants a cut? I'd say it's in your best interest not to pay that. In some places they have tax on your pets. You have to tell the government that you have a cat and pay them. What kind of stupid shit is that?

Fortunately they don't want me to pay a tax on my held bitcoin, but who knows what they'll come up with in a year or two. Anyway, if they do, I'm not going to rat myself out to them. I'm going to keep my coins a secret and never pay that stupid tax.

I guess it's the bottom line. If we have criminalized government then avoiding taxes doesn't sound like a "big crime"! So in my country "tax evading and other embezzlement schemes are not punished with some big-time jail sentence. People who are caught mostly end up in house arrest and those ankle bracelets. Some of them get in jail when some really big amounts are in question, but after a year or two they are free with all the millions they stole. But it's a "Big League", I guess every country has it...

But when it comes to us "ordinary" people, I pay all my taxes, at least the ones I am aware of. Today it's hard to avoid it... and I can't afford to get into some big trouble with my wife and kids around.


I don't wish anyone to think that I am advocating for the same, but I am also disappointed in my country and how they "do it". It's not a lonely example, there are many countries with "fucked up" systems!

So I wouldn't say that OP is a bad person if he manages to avoid taxes... but from experience and all the "life stories" I heard about, not everyone gets away with it. Everyone should be aware of the possible consequences before they decide to go against "the rules".

Tax avoidance and tax evasion are distinct from one another. Nobody enjoys paying a substantial portion of their income in taxes personally; it just doesn't make sense.  As opposed to tax avoidance, which is allowed, I believe we should aim to pay as little tax as possible. The goal of tax avoidance is to minimize your tax obligations and increase your tax-free income. It is entirely legal. You can change your income and claim deductions, credits, and other tax benefits if you pay taxes. Simply put, tax avoidance is when you take advantage of the tax system.

Starting a business is one approach to achieve this. Businesses can take advantage of tax write-offs and deductions. Other examples abound, but this is the first to come to mind. Therefore, use legal means of avoidance rather than illegal means of evasion if you wish to avoid paying as much in taxes.

- www.economicshelp.org/blog/glossary/tax-avoidance/
- https://mtaxz.com/what-is-tax-avoidance-and-tax-evasion/

Tax evasion? It is undoubtedly considered illegal by the law, and from the government's perspective, it is a violation. However, we all realize that every government provides an unfair financial governance in certain aspects. That's why many people consider tax avoidance to be something reasonable.

Taxes are associated with public facilities provided by the government. Yet, are you certain that the government can flawlessly manage all the money they generate from taxes? Starting from this point, the public becomes aware that the government can still engage in deceitful practices, but they are adept at legalizing such actions.

I am not advocating for everyone to avoid taxes. However, I am also one of the individuals who feel somewhat disappointed with the tax system in my country.

When viewed from the legal side in government, someone who does not pay taxes will definitely be sanctioned and given a penalty in accordance with the regulations in the government. This means that people who don't pay taxes, when viewed from the side of government law, can be called people who don't obey the rules. But if referred to as a bad person, in my opinion it seems not. Because the act of not paying taxes, in my opinion, is not a crime, but just a little negligent in complying with government regulations.

But when viewed from the point of view of justice, I think that most governments in a country take too much tax from the people. Starting from the place where you live, food, vehicles, to the clothes you wear, everything contains taxes. I personally also sometimes think, is this all fair. But if you think about it again, if the government is honest and trustworthy in carrying out its duties, these taxes actually return to the people who give them. For example, roads, security, education, and health facilities, all of that is certain from the results of taxes from the community. So at this point I can't complain about taxes, because all these taxes actually come back to me and to all people.

Tax evasion is a common phenomenon in most countries. Because it negatively impacts the economy, causing social inequality, eroding the tax base, and losing revenue. So whether it's tax evasion or avoidance, By taking advantage of loopholes in the law, circumventing the law, or deliberately breaking the law to evade paying taxes, it also causes a huge loss of revenue for the government. If you look at it from an economic perspective, tax evasion and avoidance all lead to the situation that resources are allocated in the wrong place, inefficiently, and unfairly between businesses or taxpayers. So the new government created the law to make it fair to many people.

In many countries, large companies receive large tax breaks from governments and grants to develop their business or loans with a very small percentage that is close to 0. And small businesses always have to survive. Large business always lobbies for favorable conditions for their companies, so not all business in the country is in the same conditions.