The main objective of this research is to examine the effect of the characteristics of the board of directors and the ownership structure on tax avoidance in the Egyptian environment. Sub-objectives emerge from the main objective, which are to test the impact of the characteristics of the board of directors (the independence of the board members, the size of the board of directors, the term of the CEO) and the ownership structure (institutional ownership, managerial ownership, concentration of ownership) on tax avoidance of Egyptian companies.