tax evasion

American  

noun

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

---

tax evasion British  

noun

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

---

Etymology

Origin of tax evasion

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

“Preventing activity lest it give rise to tax evasion places no limit whatsoever on Congress’s power under the taxation clause,” Judge Edith Jones writes for the unanimous panel in McNutt v.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026

“We are seeing fewer routine criminal tax cases of tax evasion and tax fraud being initiated,” Lee said in an interview.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

With large unpaid sums at stake, tax evasion counts as a felony that can lead to prison time.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026

Tax avoidance is different to tax evasion, which is a criminal offence.

From BBC • Mar. 15, 2026

Colonel Korn was the lawyer, and if Colonel Korn assured him that fraud, extortion, currency manipulation, embezzlement, income tax evasion and black-market speculations were legal, Colonel Cathcart was in no position to disagree with him.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller