How prominent billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Michael Bloomberg take advantage of “tax avoidance strategies”.
Nebraska ( USA ): Some of America’s wealthiest people pay only a tiny fraction of the billions of dollars added to their wealth each year in federal income tax, and sometimes they pay nothing.
Debate on the list of billionaires who do not pay taxes
Investigative journalism organization Pro Publica says it has obtained detailed information from the Internal Revenue Service about the extent to which American billionaires go to avoid paying taxes. It claims to explain how prominent billionaires such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Michael Bloomberg take advantage of “tax evasion strategies” that are out of reach of the common man. While there is an understanding among the general public of the illegality of tax evasion—the willful non-payment of tax owed—there is considerable variation in the way tax evasion strategies are evaluated and investigated, including through legal loopholes by an individual. Every effort is made to minimize the amount to be repaid.
No evidence of illegal work found
There is no indication in the Pro Publica report that the billionaires have done anything illegal. A poll conducted just before the 2016 election found that nearly half of Americans agreed with Donald Trump that it is “wise” to pay at least or no tax at all. Two-thirds called it “selfish” and 61 percent said it was “against patriotism”.
rights and responsibilities
In this regard, Erin Bass (University of Nebraska Omaha) says that as a scholar studying business ethics, I can see how individuals seek and rationalize moral grounds to avoid tax. A moral foundation is a set of principles, norms and values that guide the beliefs and behaviors of an individual or group. They can shape what people consider important – such as fairness, caring for oneself or others, loyalty and independence, and making decisions about right and wrong or moral and immoral.
Debate on three different perspectives
Philosophers have debated these ethical grounds for centuries. These broadly come up with three different approaches that need to be considered in the context of tax avoidance strategies. From Immanuel Kant to John Rawls, thinkers have spoken of deontological logic. It emphasizes on ethics based on the observance of rules, regulations, laws and norms. In such a view, “what is right” is defined as that which is commensurate with the responsibility and duty of an individual towards society.
What is right? Argumentation needed
Meanwhile utilitarian philosophers such as John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham made an argument that recognized the costs and benefits of seeking “what is right”. Under this belief system, called consequentialism, an action ethic would be good if its result was beneficial to a large number of people, even if it had some cost.
Greek philosophy
A third approach is called the virtue moral basis, which is associated with Aristotle and other Greek philosophers. This suggests that one who increases one’s qualities and efforts toward moral excellence, and which is defined by avoiding faults and striving to do good, is right. Thus, ethical behavior is that which enables the individual to attain his or her highest moral self.
morality and money
When applied to individuals’ tax avoidance strategies, each approach provides a unique understanding of what individuals consider to be “right”. A person who adopts a principled ethical approach evaluates the tax avoidance strategies of a public figure with less scrutiny. As long as a person follows the tax code, and acts legally, tax avoidance strategies can be considered ethical by that person. Conversely a consequentialist would emphasize how those taxes can be used to benefit society. When one person, whether it is a billionaire or any other person, avoids taxes, he incurs costs to others and reduces the benefits to society as a whole.
Benefit reaches the society in different ways
A person who adopts Aristotle’s virtuous approach can evaluate tax avoidance strategies in the context of a person’s other good practices. If one avoids taxes but provides financial help to other institutions, and also creates benefits for society, this behavior can be viewed with less contempt. In this way, whether a tax-saving strategy is ethical or not, it depends not only on the moral basis of the individual, but also on the expectation of the very wealthy to generate profit for the society.
