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Table 1 Tax term definitions

From: How can corporate taxes contribute to sub-Saharan Africa’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? A case study of Vodafone

Tax avoidance

Generally used to describe the arrangement of a taxpayer’s affairs intended to reduce their tax liability. Although the arrangement could be strictly legal, it usually contradicts the intent the law purports to follow [19]

Tax evasion

Generally means illegal arrangements where liability to tax is hidden or ignored, i.e. the taxpayer pays less tax than they are legally obligated to pay by hiding income or information from the tax authorities [19]

Tax Abuse

Tax avoidance and tax evasion [20]