Tax avoidance is legal - millions of us do it by owning an ISA. It describes legitimate ways to pay as little tax as you can do within the law. Tax evasion is avoiding paying tax by breaking the law. Simple enough? Not for John Humphreys, the grotesquely overpaid presenter of Radio 4's flagship fake news programme Today.
The pious Welshman described tax avoidance is "just legal". No John this is like pregnancy. You cannot be half pregnant. When it comes to the law on how you pay your taxes you either stick to it or you break it. Those engaged in tax avoidance ( does Humphrey's shelter any of his millions within an ISA?) are not doing something that is "just legal" but something that is 100% legal. Were they to be doing something that was illegal they would be evaders.
Is this slip of the tongue ignorance? Possibly. Today is pretty weak on basic economics. But it also has form. It pushes an agenda where the rich - whom it imagines to be evil capitalists and sports stars not grossly overpaid presenters - should pay more in tax to support a bloated state. Those fat cats who use legitimate means to ensure that they don't pay more than they have to to Nanny state are deemed to be fair game for attack.
Humphrey's throwaway comment again exposes the BBC groupthink.