loophole
noun
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Definition of loophole
(Entry 1 of 2)
loophole
verbDefinition of loophole (Entry 2 of 2)
Examples of loophole in a Sentence
Noun
She took advantage of a loophole in the tax law. His attorney has been hunting for a loophole that would allow him to get out of the deal. tried to close a loophole in the new legislation
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Additionally, to get through Congress, a new wealth tax would almost certainly be full of the usual loopholes for special interests. — Tracy C. Miller, Twin Cities, "Tracy C. Miller: Wealth tax won’t stand up to scrutiny," 8 Sep. 2019 Drenick, a spokeswoman for the Alameda District Attorney, said the office sponsored legislation last year meant to close a number of loopholes and shortfalls in criminal law. — Thomas Peele, The Mercury News, "FBI agent dodges fine for AR-15 assault rifle stolen from unattended vehicle in Oakland," 4 Sep. 2019 For starters, opinion polls show overwhelming public support for enhanced gun-control measures, including the elimination of loopholes in the current background-check system, which doesn’t apply to unlicensed gun sellers. — John Cassidy, The New Yorker, "Some Reasons to Be Skeptical About Trump’s Embrace of Gun Control," 9 Aug. 2019 Knowledge of secret loopholes in the law has a way of migrating across country, in whispers and winks and nods. — John Kass, chicagotribune.com, "Column: Latest college scandal is another canary in the coal mine," 26 July 2019 Get our daily newsletter The resulting international patchwork of laws has lots of loopholes. — The Economist, "Ever more countries are banning plastic bags," 24 July 2019 Lawmakers’ failed first try was riddled with loopholes. — Rob Davis | The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive.com, "Oregon’s corporate-dominated campaign finance system gets Congress’ attention," 17 July 2019 Here’s the story on yesterday’s hearing, which included a discussion of changing the state’s guardianship law and denying admission to students whose families exploit legal loopholes for financial gain. — Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica, "Inside the Illinois House Hearing on the Financial Aid Scandal," 9 Aug. 2019 Google, a unit of Alphabet, had been accused of exploiting loopholes in Apple’s Safari and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browsers to help advertisers bypass cookie blockers. — Jonathan Stempel, The Mercury News, "Appeals court voids Google ‘cookie’ privacy settlement that paid users nothing," 7 Aug. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
State Assembly 1507, for instance, would close the out-of-district charters loophole and forbid charter schools from opening such satellite locations. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Some small school districts profit from charter schools," 9 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'loophole.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for loophole
loophole
nounFinancial Definition of loophole
What It Is
A loophole is an exception that allows a system to be circumvented or avoided. It usually refers to legal, taxation, or security strategies that are exploited for personal gain.
How It Works
Loopholes are failures of a system to account for all conditions, variables, or exceptions. To illustrate a legal loophole, consider a local development law that requires even an unoccupied building to pay real estate taxes so long as it receives a certificate of completion. In order to avoid paying taxes, a builder may exploit this loophole and choose not to "complete" the building.
An example of a tax loophole is the tax break for small businesses who invest in "heavy vehicles". The tax break applies if the vehicle is used at least 50% of the time for the business. Business owners may exploit this loophole by upgrading their own vehicles to SUVs, which are considered "heavy" under the tax law, and thereby gain a personal financial advantage.
In most instances, loopholes that lead to excessive abuse are corrected by subsequent regulations and laws.
Why It Matters
While loopholes may save money or allow a purchase that would otherwise not be economical, the use of loopholes is considered questionable. Exploiting loopholes may lead to intensive scrutiny and audits, or even just a feeling of bad faith. For example, a tax payer should be aware when a tax consultant advises of specific tax advantage of whether the advantage is claimed on the basis of an allowable deduction or a loophole.
Source: Investing Answers
loophole
noun
English Language Learners Definition of loophole
See the full definition for loophole in the English Language Learners Dictionary
loophole
noun
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Kids Definition of loophole
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