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Polygamy: Illegal Relationship, Legal Tax Shelter, Robin Boneck, Timothy Lewis

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

The polygamist community in southern Utah has been the subject of investigations for welfare fraud, bank fraud, bigamy and crimes against children. Yet, there have been no publicized investigations regarding income tax avoidance. A common perception in southern Utah is that polygamists do not pay federal income taxes. This perception is supported by published income tax statistics. This article explores possible reasons the polygamist community, in general, is able to avoid taxation. The results of the research indicate that polygamists who are able to avoid taxes do so as a result of aggressive tax planning as applied to their unique …