They should not be prosecuted for avoidance. I think at a certain point it's fair to shame people for seeking out loopholes, even if they're technically legal. Not that they probably care.
In some cases, the loopholes people talk about are less loopholes and more the intentional way the law works. Those in particular are the govs fault.
> Governments should just close the loopholes.
Calling attention to the existing wrong — its existence, it's wrongness, and it's connection to the present state of the law — is a key part of changing the law, so such public shaming is directly part of that process in a democratic republic, though perhaps not in a regime where “the government” is an aloof dictator unconcerned with public opinion.
I suspect that people are less concerned about loopholes and more just jealous that some people make massively more than them.
For example, this year in the UK there is a special question on the tax form for if you are a deep water diver. Why? Because divers have a different taxation system put in place as a sweetheart deal for BP (who employ a lot of divers for their offshore oil rigs)
When the wealthy can collectively lobby their way out of paying taxes, this process is pretty much useless. The middle/lower class don’t care so much to do public demonstrations.
"Were I the programmer, I would simply fix all the bugs"
if it's shameful to take advantage of a loophole, shouldn't we close that loophole?
How do you define a loophole?
As for personal income tax, I strongly believe all credits, deductions, exemptions should be abolished/phased out completely. These are nothing but an extra tax on the lazy, the stupid, and the poorly educated like me. Whether you have zero dependents or a hundred, your tax obligation does not change. Whether you donated nothing or all your income, your tax obligation does not change. Why can’t we have that?