Tax avoidance -- that is, legally reducing your tax bill -- is as American as apple pie. But the line between tax avoidance and tax evasion is often a grey one.  On today’s show, a collaboration with <a href="https://www.taxnotes.com/featured-news/crackdown-malta-pension-plans-may-be-quietly-ending/2026/02/09/7tyml"target="_blank" >Tax Notes</a>, we listen in on the secret tapes that show how the wealthiest Americans avoid taxes.  We trace the lifecycle of a tax loophole: how it was born (in Malta), how it grew, how the Feds cracked down, and how the industry came to its rescue -- with the help of one high-ranking Trump administration official.   Support: <ul class="edTag" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px 15px 0px 60px; border: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variant-emoji: inherit; font-weight: 400; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 18px; line-height: inherit; font-family: NPRSerif, Georgia, serif; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-language-override: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: square; max-width: 680px; position: relative; float: none; width: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); letter-spacing: 0.36px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><li><a href="https://n.pr/3HlREPz"target="_blank" >Planet Money+</a></li></ul>Read:  <ul class="edTag" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px 15px 0px 60px; border: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variant-emoji: inherit; font-weight: 400; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 18px; line-height: inherit; font-family: NPRSerif, Georgia, serif; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-language-override: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: square; max-width: 680px; position: relative; float: none; width: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); letter-spacing: 0.36px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><li>Our book: <a href="https://lnk.to/i3AukBdD"target="_blank" >Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life</a> </li><li>Our weekly longform <a href="https://n.pr/3zrFvUB"target="_blank" >Planet Money newsletter</a></li><li>Our weekly <a href="https://www.npr.org/newsletter/indicator"target="_blank" >Indicator round-up newsletter</a></li></ul>Follow:  <ul class="edTag" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px 15px 0px 60px; border: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variant-emoji: inherit; font-weight: 400; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 18px; line-height: inherit; font-family: NPRSerif, Georgia, serif; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-language-override: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: square; max-width: 680px; position: relative; float: none; width: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); letter-spacing: 0.36px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><li><a href="https://n.pr/3FqLuws"target="_blank" >Instagram</a></li><li><a href="https://n.pr/3sGZdrq"target="_blank" >TikTok</a></li><li><a href="https://lnk.to/iCVDaW3C"target="_blank" >YouTube</a></li><li><a href="https://n.pr/3h92GwS"target="_blank" >Facebook</a></li></ul>This episode was produced by Luis Gallo and Emma Peaslee and edited by Marianne McCune. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Cena Loffredo and Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

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The leaked tapes that show how the rich avoid taxes

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