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Study is about Taxpayers — both individual and corporate, can use a range of strategies to reduce the tax burdens

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Taxpayers — both individual and corporate, can use a range of strategies to reduce the tax burdens on their incomes. Besides, some procedures may be illegal whereas others are allowed by the law (Jose, 2017). Some legally permissible tax reduction measures include tax avoidance, tax mitigation, and tax planning. Conversely, tax evasion is prohibited. The present essay has provided a discussion of the above tax reduction measures and how individual taxpayers and organizations may use them to reduce their tax burdens.

Tax mitigation

Tax mitigation is an approach whereby, the taxpayers use the fiscal incentives or tax concessions available to them in the tax laws to escape tax liability. Establishing a firm in the SEZ (Special Economic Zone) to claim tax exemptions is an example of a tax mitigation strategy (Jose, 2017). In such situations, the taxpayers take advantage of the tax concessions given to them by the SEZ regulations as enshrined in the Act. Concerning the SEZ regulations, an organization is not obliged to pay any corporate income tax for the initial five years of its operation. Therefore tax mitigation is a legitimate strategy which can be used by firms to ease their tax burdens.

Tax avoidance

Ideally, tax avoidance entails exploiting the legitimate chances provided to the taxpayer by law to avoid paying taxes. No clause in the law declares tax avoidance an illegal practice (Jose, 2017). Hence, it can be classified as a legitimate way to cut the tax burden. Besides, presently, many multinational corporations have crafted some tax avoidance measures which see them pay less or no taxes at all. Such measures include profit shifting and base erosion. However several countries have started to enforce different legislation to prevent tax avoidance. An example of such legislation is the GAAR (General Anti-Avoidance Rule), established in 1988, to increase the abilities of CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) to curb tax avoidance.

Tax planning

Tax planning is an approach used by businesses and individuals to analyze their financial profiles with the aim of reducing their tax burdens. Ideally, tax planning includes any legal means used by a firm or individual taxpayer to reduce the amount of tax liability from their sources of earning (Mgammal & Ismail, 2015). There are some principles an organization should follow when doing tax planning. First, tax planning strategies should be flexible and allow for continuity. Second, tax planning strategies should be time-oriented as they depend on the tax rules and regulatory loopholes. Furthermore, tax planning strategies should be coordinated, personalized and applied consistently.

Tax Evasion

Following the Income-tax Act, tax evasion is prohibited and considered as an outcome fraud and suppression. Ellawule (2018), explains that in tax evasion, a taxpayer refuses to pay taxes or tries to minimize tax liability using illegal ways. By deliberately refusing to declare and make tax payments, organizations and individual taxpayers risk facing legal measures. Therefore, organizations should not use this strategy to reduce their tax liabilities

Conclusion

Tax reduction measures enable organizations to ease their tax burdens. Tax avoidance, tax planning, and tax mitigation are some legal tax reduction strategies. However, Tax evasion is prohibited and should not be practiced by a taxpayer.


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