"Not paying tax is much worse than stealing from your children"

[LanaorAna1]

Do you agree? I'm not sure I can - remark made by old dear I know.

[RitchyBestingFace]

I think not paying tax is wrong. I think stealing from your children is wrong. I think ageism is wrong.

I'm not sure what the AIBU is?

[LanaorAna1]

She meant stealing from her own children!

[ineedamoreadultieradult]

I don't know that a comparison can be made between the two I don't pay tax as I don't earn enough and I don't feel bad about that but I could never steal from my children. So if anything I think it is the other way round and stealing from your children is worse.

[RitchyBestingFace]

Sorry Ineed what I meant was

I think not paying the tax you are liable for is wrong

[LanaorAna1]

She's saying that on a moral scale of Bad Things, stealing 5k from your own son scores a 2 ie not that bad, but evading tax of 5k scores an 8 ie terrible.

[LettyJane]

Yes. No one should evade tax. It is a moral an dlegal duty to pay it.
Interesting issue as to whether people whoul could pay tax but instead choose not to work fall into your category? Does the original post intend that too? There are plenty of people who could be paying tax to help society and instead choose not to work or only work under the tax limit. Is that also worse than stealing from your children? Yes, might well be.

[branofthemist]

I think tax evasion is morally wrong.

I can't quantify it in comparison though.

[Sallyingforth]

What's your AIBU?
They are both morally wrong. So are many other things.

[RitchyBestingFace]

There's stealing from your own child like this: raiding a 5yo's university savings account to buy a new boiler.

And stealing from your own child like this: leaving the family unit and cleaning out the household account.

And plenty of shades in between. So it's hard to say.

[Froginapan]

In what context was she saying this?

Using legal loopholes to avoid paying tax?

Committing tax fraud?

Not earning enough to pay tax?

[Sixweekstowait]

Hummmm- in view of comments about ageism elsewhere on MN, I am driven to ask how old the 'old dear' was and what was so endearing about her?

[glassgarden]

I feel that she has voiced her sentiments in a misleading way.

People who evade tax may feel that they are cheating the government, or the establishment, or 'the man'.
I think she may be trying to argue that, by evading taxes you are (in effect) stealing from your own kith and kin.

Perhaps she is saying that is worse than actually raiding the piggy banks of your offspring because you are kidding yourself that non payment of tax is somehow a victim-less crime?

[glassgarden]

can you question her further?
present her with a list of possible crimes and ask her to rate them all on a scale of 1-5 and then we can get a better handle on her thought processes

[mirime]

LettyJane I don't know, one person not needing to work and not working means someone else who might otherwise be unemployed has a job.

And we all pay taxes one way or another - VAT for example.

[glassgarden]

people who work when they dont need to are selfishly hoarding work

[BillSykesDog]

Not sure you can quantify it by comparison. But I agree with her that it's badly morally wrong. I think that generation has a much better attitude towards the welfare state, public services and the moral obligation to contribute than my own generation.

Reading MN, half the posters seem to think avoiding tax is okay, and the other half seem to think that it's okay to not bother working if you don't feel like it or claim what you don't need. There is an expectation that some nebulous somebody somewhere will always pick up the bill.

[AyeAmarok]

I don't understand

[Oldprof]

Tax dodging is worse because it robs more people than personal theft.
Revenue from taxation lets governments pay for services and resources -health, education, infrastructure- that everyone uses. People who avoid/evade paying taxes are taking services and resources away from their own children, and from everyone else as well.
Simples.

[LettyJane]

" glassgarden Sun 19-Jun-16 17:43:34

people who work when they dont need to are selfishly hoarding work"
I can understand that point if you have a spouse who earns enough so that you don't claim tax credits. However if say husband earns £13k a year and wife £13k rather than one only earning £26k are reducing the tax paid to the state as they each claim their £11k personal allowance so they are avoiding tax and depriving the state of revenues. If instead they structure their affairs so they pay the most tax they could then they benefit more those less fortunate than they are.

[BestIsWest]

Not paying your taxes IS stealing from your children - and everyone else.

[BestIsWest]

Also, bit of an ageist post. Old dear?

[Sixweekstowait]

Best - I tried to make that point, just ignored