tax evasion

American

noun

the nonpayment of taxes, as through the failure to report taxable income.

tax evasion British

noun

reduction or minimization of tax liability by illegal methods Compare tax avoidance

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of tax evasion

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It also led to scrutiny from federal prosecutors, who brought charges in early 2025, alleging he engaged in a yearslong tax evasion scheme.

From The Wall Street Journal

Congress passed a law in December to raise the thresholds for tax evasion, allowing Argentines to use as much as $70,000 in some cases without declaring the origin of the cash.

From The Wall Street Journal

At the time of his video, Ver was under criminal indictment for millions in tax evasion and living on the Spanish island of Mallorca.

From Salon

Most notably, he was found guilty of taking bribes from Samsung in exchange for favours to the conglomerate's then chairman, Lee Kun-hee, who had been convicted of tax evasion.

From Barron's

Congress also passed the so-called Fiscal Innocence bill—an amnesty measure to encourage Argentines to put undeclared cash back into the bank without suffering penalties for tax evasion.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023