From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishloopholeloop‧hole /ˈluːphəʊl $ -hoʊl/ noun [countable] SCLa small mistake in a law that makes it possible to avoid doing something that the law is supposed to make you dolegal/tax loopholeloophole in a loophole in the lawCOLLOCATIONSverbsclose/plug a loophole (=change something so that there is no longer a loophole)The president is eager to close tax loopholes for foreign companies.find a loopholeSome lawyers spend their time simply finding loopholes in existing contracts.use/exploit a loopholeAirlines may be exploiting legal loopholes in order to employ pilots trained outside the US.a loophole allows/enables somethingSecurity loopholes allowed the terrorists to plant the bombs unnoticed.ADJECTIVES/NOUN + loopholea legal loopholeThe new law closed a number of legal loopholes.a tax loopholeThe government lost billions because of a tax loophole.a gaping loophole (=a very large loophole)There is a gaping loophole in the ban on arms sales to poor countries.
Examples from the Corpus
loophole• Visa has recently closed a loophole that let AT&T put a telephone number on its Universal cards.• The new rules will close loopholes in British immigration law.• A recently proposed federal ban on feeding animal protein to animals is encouraging, writes Rhodes, but has too many loopholes.• There was, indeed, one possible loophole.• He pays very little tax because of some loophole in income tax legislation.• tax loopholes• A good first step would be to close the loophole in that conflict-of-interest clause.• They did so simply by reading the fine print and slithering through the loophole that yawned, obvious and inviting, therein.• But no party is willing to refuse to take advantage of these loopholes when the other party is doing it.• Various ways of using this loophole are under current investigation.• The existing law is riddled with loopholes and anomalies.legal/tax loophole• Banks are busily designing privately placed securities that exploit the many available tax loopholes.• Mr Clinton is also keen to close tax loopholes for foreign companies.• Republican lawmakers, in contrast, aim to raise only $ 18 billion by closing tax loopholes for business.• Other private placements are designed mainly for issuers, often to exploit tax loopholes.• Forbes was protesting a Clinton administration effort to close a Medicare tax loophole that benefits thousands of business partnerships.• To crack down on tax loopholes.• Approximately one dozen employees took advantage of this remarkable tax loophole.• This legal loophole has proven lucrative for the farm giants.From Longman Business Dictionaryloopholeloop‧hole /ˈluːphəʊl-hoʊl/ noun [countable]LAW a small mistake in a law that makes it possible to do something the law is supposed to prevent you from doing, or to avoid doing something that the law is supposed to make you doYou can be sure that any tax loopholes will be exploited.The administration moved to close the legal loopholes exempting government education programs from the requirements of the Bill.Origin loophole (1500-1600) loop “hole in a wall for shooting through” ((14-19 centuries)) + hole 