26 Big Firms Paid More to CEOs Than to US in Taxes

Possibly the most famous case of cronyism must be in the US Constitution. At the convention, the South must have lobbied for no taxes in exports since that was how they made their living. In the absense of any limit on the taxes on imports, that led to major friction bewteen the regions and to the Civil War.

I am only responding to the OP, but when it comes to major corporations, they do more than merely evade tax. They create employment, and pay people who in turn pay tax.

Also, the companies are not evading tax merely for personal gain, it is more to appease shareholders who have no interest in how wealth is accrued, as long as it is accrued at ever increasing rates, so that they receive higher returns on their investment. All it would take to change the system, is for the average stock holder to develop a social conscience.

However, having said that, I use every legal means available to me to limit the amount of tax I pay, as apart from a drunk sailor or drug addict, I have never known anyone to waste money with quite the same enthusiasm as a government.