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"Tax shelter" often refers to an investment that legally reduces the amount of tax due, whether by avoidance of a tax payment, reduction of the tax rate, or by delaying or deferring a tax payment to a later date. Traditional tax shelters include real estate investments, equipment leasing, or individual retirement accounts. Tax shelters are government-sanctioned ways to stimulate new business growth or investment in areas where it is unlikely that an investor will see a profit for several years, such as oil and gas exploration or start-up companies. The intent is to encourage investors to put money in such endeavors. The government benefits from sales taxes, payroll taxes, and similar taxes at the early stages of the endeavor and will reap an additional tax benefit when and if any profits are realized at a later date. As with all good things, there are those who will abuse the system and seek to take some unfair advantage. Thus, the government is always on the lookout for "abusive tax shelters." Abusive tax shelters typically have no economic purpose other than reducing taxes with predictable tax losses or tax consequences and often involve the use of multiple layers of domestic and foreign pass-through entities such as domestic and foreign trusts, partnerships, S Corporations, and limited liability companies. Willing participation in an abusive tax shelter can result in payment not only of the taxes that otherwise would have been due but also imposition of penalties and interest and, in some instances, criminal prosecution.