Tax avoidance -- that is, legally reducing your tax bill -- is as American as apple pie. But the line between tax avoidance and tax evasion is often a grey one.  On today’s show, a collaboration with Tax Notes [https://www.taxnotes.com/featured-news/crackdown-malta-pension-plans-may-be-quietly-ending/2026/02/09/7tyml], we listen in on the secret tapes that show how the wealthiest Americans avoid taxes.  We trace the lifecycle of a tax loophole: how it was born (in Malta), how it grew, how the Feds cracked down, and how the industry came to its rescue -- with the help of one high-ranking Trump administration official.   Support: * Planet Money+ [https://n.pr/3HlREPz] Read:  * Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life [https://lnk.to/i3AukBdD]  * Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletter [https://n.pr/3zrFvUB] * Our weekly Indicator round-up newsletter [https://www.npr.org/newsletter/indicator] Follow:  * Instagram [https://n.pr/3FqLuws] * TikTok [https://n.pr/3sGZdrq] * YouTube [https://lnk.to/iCVDaW3C] * Facebook [https://n.pr/3h92GwS] This episode was produced by Luis Gallo and Emma Peaslee and edited by Marianne McCune. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Cena Loffredo and Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]