About This Episode
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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br /><em>Support:</em><br /><br /><ul class="edTag"><li><a href="https://n.pr/3HlREPz" target="_blank"><em>Planet Money+</em></a></li></ul><em>Read: </em><br /><br /><ul class="edTag"><li><em>Our book: </em><a href="https://lnk.to/i3AukBdD" target="_blank"><em>Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life</em></a><em> </em></li><li><em>Our weekly longform </em><a href="https://n.pr/3zrFvUB" target="_blank"><em>Planet Money newsletter</em></a></li><li><em>Our weekly </em><a href="https://www.npr.org/newsletter/indicator" target="_blank"><em>Indicator round-up newsletter</em></a></li></ul><em>Follow: </em><br /><br /><ul class="edTag"><li><a href="https://n.pr/3FqLuws" target="_blank"><em>Instagram</em></a></li><li><a href="https://n.pr/3sGZdrq" target="_blank"><em>TikTok</em></a></li><li><a href="https://lnk.to/iCVDaW3C" target="_blank"><em>YouTube</em></a></li><li><a href="https://n.pr/3h92GwS" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a></li></ul><br /><em>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.</em> <em>Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer.</em><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>