Is tax evasion as wrong as theft? British politician Nadhim Zahawi has been sacked after questions over his tax affairs. Some think the time is ripe to go after tax cheats everywhere.
A sacking, a scandal and a question of trust
Is tax evasion as wrong as theft? British politician Nadhim Zahawi has been sacked after questions over his tax affairs. Some think the time is ripe to go after tax cheats everywhere.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper" id="crosshead">Emotionally taxing</h2>
Since the 1970s, every US president (except one) has released their tax returns to the public. They know nothing undermines trust in politicians more than the suspicion that they are using their power to avoid coughing up the same as everyone else.
That is what the UK government discovered this week. For days, it tried to subdue public outrage over Nadhim ZahawiA British Conservative party politician.'s tax affairs. Zahawi has admitted that he paid a seven-figure penalty to the tax office because of a "careless and not deliberate" error in his tax returns. Yesterday, he was sacked by prime minister Rishi Sunak after an ethics adviser found his conduct fell short of what was expected in government.
Zahawi is only the latest figure in the public eye to be plagued with questions about tax. A few years ago, Lionel MessiThe world's highest-paid footballer, he is reported to earn £107.6m a year at Barcelona. was slapped with a fine by the Spanish government over his tax affairs. ShakiraA Colombian singer and songwriter who has become known as the "Queen of Latin Music". is also accused by Spain of not paying all her taxes.
And Akshata MurtyAn Indian businesswoman and daughter of an IT billionaire. She is married to Rishi Sunak. , Rishi Sunak's wife, had to promise to pay more tax in the UK after stories about her financial affairs threatened to sink his leadership campaign last year.
These cases are not all the same. Messi was found guilty of tax fraud, meaning he misrepresented his earnings to pay less tax. Shakira is accused of tax evasion, meaning she allegedly did not pay taxes she owed.
Murty, however, had so-called "non dom" status, meaning she did not have to pay taxes on earnings she made outside the UK because she officially did not live in the country. Critics have called this a form of tax avoidance, which unlike tax fraud and evasion is not illegal.
So there is an important legal difference between tax evasion, which is a criminal offence, and tax avoidance, which is not illegal.
But some think on a moral level, there is no real difference between evading and avoiding tax. They say it all amounts to one thing: stealing from the public.
The government spends most of its money on healthcare, education, defence and transport.1 These are things that everyone in society benefits from: they keep us safe and healthy, give us life skills, and allow us to travel. So not paying taxes, some argue, means you are taking from everyone else without putting anything back in.
And the rich, they claim, actually benefit more from taxation than anyone else. Rich people tend to own businesses. So they gain from public healthcare, which keeps their employees healthy and productive, and from state-funded transport, which allows them to move goods around easily.
So it is even less excusable for the rich not to contribute to public funds, they argue, since they are benefiting so much from them.
But others insist this attitude is outdated. The problem, they argue, is that wealth has become more mobile than ever before.
Today, if you try to make rich people pay too much tax, they will just take their money elsewhere, and you will get nothing. But if you turn a blind eye, they are more likely to stay and boost your economy with their money.
Some libertariansSomeone who believes that the state should intervene in markets and the lives of citizens as little as possible. believe this is all the wrong way round. They say avoiding tax is not stealing from the public; tax is the public stealing from you.
Yes: Taxes have been called "the price we pay to live in a civilised society". They fund the services that make all our lives better. Someone who does not pay, but still wants the services, is stealing.
No: It is just inevitable that people who can find ways of dodging taxes will do so. Complaining about this does not change it. Instead we should find ways of benefiting from it.
Or... Dodging taxes is not wrong because it is stealing; it is wrong because it is refusing to participate in a basic civic duty. Not paying taxes means turning one's back on the community.
Nadhim Zahawi - A British Conservative party politician.
Lionel Messi - The world's highest-paid footballer, he is reported to earn £107.6m a year at Barcelona.
Shakira - A Colombian singer and songwriter who has become known as the "Queen of Latin Music".
Akshata Murty - An Indian businesswoman and daughter of an IT billionaire. She is married to Rishi Sunak.
Libertarians - Someone who believes that the state should intervene in markets and the lives of citizens as little as possible.
<h5 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper" id="question"><strong>Is tax evasion as wrong as theft? </strong></h5>
A sacking, a scandal and a question of trust

Glossary
Nadhim Zahawi - A British Conservative party politician.
Lionel Messi - The world's highest-paid footballer, he is reported to earn £107.6m a year at Barcelona.
Shakira - A Colombian singer and songwriter who has become known as the "Queen of Latin Music".
Akshata Murty - An Indian businesswoman and daughter of an IT billionaire. She is married to Rishi Sunak.
Libertarians - Someone who believes that the state should intervene in markets and the lives of citizens as little as possible.