When does a tax deduction become a tax loophole?

A deduction is good for you. A loophole is good for someone else.

It is the difference between the spirit of the law and the letter of the law.

Which “loopholes” violate the spirit of the law but follow the letter of the law?
I confess, I don’t know, but you apparently do.
Which ones are they?

@josie Private Foundations get abused a lot. Notice how just about every big name celebrity has one? They funnel money to others and take the deduction for it.

It is doing something you want, vs doing something you do not care about just to save money.

I was going to say that a loophole is a deduction that you’re not eligible for, but @Adirondackwannabe beat me too it!

@ibstubro The race for life goes fairly quick. We have to move fast.. I have more jukes and jives.

It seems to depend on who you are.

When big oil takes advantage of the tax laws it is a loophole, but when GM uses the same tax laws it is a deduction.

Whether you call them deductions or loopholes, all tax breaks are intended to incentivise certain behavior. Home mortgage deductions incentivise home purchase. Green energy deductions incentivise green energy use.

These days we use ‘Loopholes’ to denote deductions that are taken by someone we don’t like and deductions are taken by those we like.