Unpaid dues: the new playbook on tax avoidance

未缴会费:避税新策略

Editor's Picks from The Economist

2025-07-02

15 分钟
PDF

单集简介 ...

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. Efforts to avoid taxes have reshaped America's financial system. And as algorithms supplant advisors, old tricks have become more widely accessible.  Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.
更多

单集文稿 ...

  • The Economist. Hi, this is Ethan Wu,

  • cohost of Money Talks, our business and finance podcast.

  • Welcome to Editor's Picks.

  • We've handpicked an article we recommend from the most recent edition of The Economist.

  • I hope you enjoy it.

  • An investor's desire to minimise his dues is nothing new.

  • The avoidance of taxes, said John Maynard Keynes,

  • is the only intellectual pursuit that still carries any reward.

  • What's new is the scale and speed at which the desire is transforming financial intermediaries,

  • wealth management and even the notion of passive investing.

  • Once the preserve of the ultra-rich,

  • the drive to minimise taxes has reshaped America's financial system.

  • Everything from the separately managed account industry,

  • with $2.7 trillion of assets under management, and robo-advisors,

  • an estimated $1.2 trillion, to exchange-traded funds,

  • $15.5 trillion, now caters to an investor's desire to minimise taxes.

  • Beneath these behemoths is a plethora of niche offerings,

  • such as exchange funds and 1031 exchanges,

  • as well as more sophisticated strategies such as heartbeat trades.

  • box spreads and long short dynamic tax loss harvesting.