Legal vs Illegal Tax Saving Strategies

Paying our legal taxes is a small price to pay for the benefits we enjoy in a privileged, prosperous, and safe society such as Australia. The great majority of taxpayers, individual and corporate, pay their taxes voluntarily and in accordance with the law. Smart taxpayers focus on maximising their legal tax savings whilst ensuring 100% compliance with the law (and the spirit of the law). 

Complying with the law to legally minimise your taxes is not a moral issue and is actually encouraged by legislation and Government policy. The listing of Australia’s 10 most expensive legal tax breaks by Federal Treasury shows that the concessional taxation of superannuation contributions is at number 3 (with an annual cost of $16.9 billion). Taxpayers utilising this tax saving strategy are saving tax of course, but benefiting society as they are providing for their own retirement (so will not be drawing down the age pension in their retirement). This is the Government’s policy and it is working efficiently and achieving its objective. Although there is clearly a short-term cost in tax forgone, the economic long-term benefits to society are clear and measurable.