How do you think, in the recent decade, does the trend of such practice went up or down ? How many, actually have been caught by doing so and is the fines big enough ? Or, this is just a smart hole in the tax system that can be exploited (?) It brings, the already wriggled game into a new level. (for a small retailer) In such case, as you mentioned, revenue and sales plays much bigger role. (probably, can't twist those numbers that easily, unless one represents NKLA or smthn)
If you have no academic background in accounting, there are free online courses you can audit. Check out edX.org. You want a course on financial accounting rather than managerial accounting.
- This practice is done by every company out there. - Rarely if ever do they get caught. They're really not doing anything "wrong," just maximizing every tax writeoff and loophole. They have the $$ for the best accountants. - It's pretty easy to manipulate tax burden; e.g.: Hire/fire contractors, lease/relinquish office space, buy (or don't buy) new equipment... simply structure spending in a way that minimizes tax burden. With huge companies, often the managers actually worked for the IRS, and know people there. The biggest companies have the power to buy the politicians and actually have tax laws written in their favor.