The BEPS initiative is remarkable because it is going after legal tax avoidance.

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The senate subcommittee released a report Monday that held up Apple as an example of the legal tax avoidance made possible by the U.S. tax code.

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Former chancellor Lord Lawson, a member of the Parliamentary Banking Commission, last week accused Barclays of being involved in legal tax avoidance on an "industrial scale".

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So if raising marginal tax rates causes a decrease in tax revenue thanks to a combination of legal tax avoidance, illegal tax evasion, and voluntary emigration, so be it.

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But then it is not Mr Robinson who preached about the immorality of legal methods of tax avoidance.

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Tax avoidance is the legal use of the tax framework to reduce the amount of tax payable whereas tax evasion is against the law.

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At which point that activists against these sorts of activities point out that while tax avoidance is, by definition, legal, it ought not to be.

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When asked why no large corporations appeared on the list, Mr Gauke said that HMRC was taking action to close legal loopholes, and those who promoted aggressive tax avoidance schemes were also being exposed.

BBC: Tax dodgers named on HMRC list