I don’t personally do it because my job audits my finances anyway; and the risk just isn’t worth it for me. But for the average person making less than $400k, risk of getting audited is basically nil.
Legally that's true, but I think the average person upset about this sees zero difference at all. Myself included, in my opinion using legal loopholes to get out of tax is morally just as bad, if not worse than deliberately not reporting things to pay fewer taxes.
-Judge Learned Hand, Helvering v. Gregory, 69 F.2d 809, 810 (2d Cir. 1934), aff'd, 293 U.S. 465 (1935)
I also doubt Trump himself has a distinction between the two based on every single account of the man I have heard.
And he’s been busted a few times in the past for doing verrrrry similar shady things; but there are different rules when you’re rich and you can just pay a fine and send a lawyer to jail instead (not a political comment; this works for the rich on both sides).
Trump has unquestionably shaken faith and trust in government. To the point I’m willing more than a few voters are thinking “jeez, if these guys are gonna screw me, I’m gonna take what’s mine”. Hell, our president has admitted to avoiding taxes in multiple on-the-record accounts!
As a result, everyone I know has admitted to cheating a little bigger on their taxes this year, and omission of personal investments like Bitcoin is one of the easiest.
From what I’ve read in the past (I don’t know if this is true), it would only take a 2% decline in personal income tax filings to cause serious cash flow problems for the US government. The republicans have spent years weakening the IRS’ enforcement power, and now Trump has given a lot of people both motive and a role model to avoid paying taxes.
Maybe if it breaks our current social contract enough, we’ll get to create a new one appropriate for a 21st century world leader.