You can't claim that taxation is a complex subject, yet begin by asking simplistic questions about it. Even then the concept is easy to understand, and expected rational behavior: the wealthy evade taxes because they like money and use their considerable resources to get it done. It's a fact that has thousands of years of historical precedent.[1] It's a pattern of behavior well documented in books, documentaries, and research on the subject. It's even part of the backdrop for dramas based on historical events, like the French Revolution.

It doesn't require any conspiracy, only self interest. Even then, the wealthy do have yearly economic summits where tax policy is discussed. Why would you assume it's about how to raise their own taxes instead of the opposite?

> Can you provide a year-by-year (or close enough) summary of the progression of this design and how it met your stated purpose?

There's a fairly good summary at Brookings.[2]

> I'll add my own observation to this: No, the US tax code is not designed to benefit the wealthy. It is based on incentivizing behavior through tax breaks/credits.

Yes it is. Even narrowing the focus to their personal income tax after it's loopholed through corporate tax shelters, the extremely wealthy pay have a lower tax rate than workers earning $45k.[3] Workers who make $140k pay as much into social security as the richest people on earth who also have US citizenship. What's the benefit to society having less money for shared infrastructure, and what's the benefit of rewarding people who find a way to avoid paying into that?

> And, no, what they do in (country) "m" has no bearing whatsoever on what is done or should be done in any other country

Eliminating the chance to learn from other nation's policy mistakes and successes is a terrible idea.

[1] https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/when-governments-can...

[2] https://www.brookings.edu/testimonies/funding-our-nations-pr...

[3] https://www.propublica.org/article/you-may-be-paying-a-highe...