Tax Evasion (Global)

Tax evasion is an illegal act that encompasses any activity designed to deceive or cheat tax authorities. In some jurisdictions it is also an offense for corporates to fail to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion by its representatives, customers, and connected parties.

Tax evasion incurs costs for governments and tax authorities as they aim to recover lost funds and bring about legal proceedings against offenders. However, the lost revenue caused by tax evasion and other aggressive forms of tax avoidance also impacts the ability of governments to provide essential public services—such as health or education—to their citizens. While tax evasion is damaging for all economies, it can be particularly damaging for developing economies as the losses incurred may reduce the funds available for vital infrastructure projects.

International governments and organizations have demonstrated a renewed focus on the prevention of tax evasion through increasing numbers of enforcement actions and the development of key legislation in some jurisdictions.

One of the key tools in the fight against tax evasion is cross-border information sharing. This has shown to have a significant impact on the identification of offenders and the traceability of offshore wealth.

By the end of this e-learning course, employees/learners will be able to:

• Describe what tax evasion is and its impact on global economies
• Summarize the key tax evasion methods employed by offenders
• List the appropriate prevention methods within your organization
• Describe some of the key tax evasion initiatives being rolled out across the globe
• Recall how to report suspicions of tax evasion