Tax avoidance or tax evasion? : the difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion is the thickness of a prison wall (Denis Healey)

Abstract

This article seeks to distinguish clearly between tax avoidance and tax evasion. These concepts are not new to the field of taxation as they have been contested since 1900. Tax avoidance is a means by which tax payers reduce tax liability by planning their affairs so as to attract the least tax possible but still acting within the provisions of the Income Tax Act. Tax evasion is an illegal action as it constitutes a deed where the person is breaching the provisions found in the Income Tax Act. In response to tax avoidance and evasion, the legislator has introduced a number of anti-avoidance provisions which are both specific, tailor-made for certain articles, and also general. This paper shall discuss such provisions with the help of local and UK case law.