7 ms·

> Taler ensures that governments can easily track their citizen's income So exactly why would I want to use this?

• pragone 11y ago
  If I had to guess, automatic calculation of income tax. No need to file taxes.
  • skimpycompiler 11y ago
    Is this not automatic in most of the countries of the world?
    • wanderfowl 11y ago
      Not in the US, sadly.
    • radmuzom 11y ago
      I would guess it is not automatic in most countries of the world, except for a few developed countries.
    • alkonaut 11y ago
      Not even in developed countries! If you go to the US for example you will find people doing everyday transactions such as wage payments, taxis or grocery shopping still using pieces of paper with numbers on them. You have to see it to believe it.
      • jessaustin 11y ago
        This is true: I know a business that employs about fifteen employees, and one of the owners looks at the withholding tables every two weeks.
• omouse 11y ago
  Because there's already enough loopholes for you to use if you really don't want to show your income to the government? I'm not sure what exactly this kind of tracking helps with; it would be nice if they had more examples or case studies.
• radmuzom 11y ago
  Because unless the government can track citizen's income it cannot tax it, and without taxes modern society cannot function at all. Technologies like this would be a boon to many developing countries like mine where tax evasion and corruption is rampant. It would enable the government to collect funds for infrastructure, education, environmental protection and healthcare (and yes, I am a progressive liberal who would rather have the government provide these at subsidized cost rather than private entities; even at the cost of "efficiency" if need be).
  • oberstein 11y ago
    If a government is already having trouble collecting funds it is owed, this currency will not help it. The government would just be faced with two problems instead of one.
  • dublinben 11y ago
    The question remains, why would anyone choose to use a system like this? Wealthy individuals and companies (aka those with most of the money) have a vested interest in having their transactions not easily tracked by the government.
    • alkonaut 11y ago
      That is already true, and with the means of transfers available (cash, gold, banking system, etc...) public institutions still give the public some confidence in that they manage to tax everyone, and pursue those who evade. If a currency system was available that made taxation appear entirely optional to the public the trust in the tax system would erode in a hurry (Why should I pay when my neighbor or Acme inc. isn't paying?). Tax morale is alreay too low in many countries. Making more loopholes available would just not be good.
    • pzone 11y ago
      Simple: this aims for regulatory support. If Taler (or a system like Taler) is embraced by governments, and is therefore given the full support of the financial system, Bitcoin could be permanently relegated to black-market-only use.
• limmeau 11y ago
  The authors are employed by TU Munich and Inria Rennes, paid for by taxes, so I guess they assume that some taxation is necessary. At least they designed some anonymity into the taxation interface. How much remains to be seen.
• chriswarbo 11y ago
  I suppose it depends on whether or not you like having a fire service, national health system, comprehensive education, social security, national defense, etc.
  • 1ris 11y ago
    Seems to be Pretty much spot-on. It's (claimed) anonymous crypto-currency without the cryto-anarchism.
• rcthompson 11y ago
  It goes both ways: it prevents a corrupt government from trying to overtax you by just saying you made more than you did, and it could prevent corporations from evading taxes.
  • StavrosK 11y ago
    You do realize that governments make the laws, and that they can just raise taxes rather than try to dispute your tax report?
    • rcthompson 11y ago
      But then they can't lie about it, at least not as easily. And if they were better able to collect from tax-evading corporations, maybe they wouldn't need to tax individuals as much.
      • icebraining 11y ago
        And if they were better able to collect from tax-evading corporations, maybe they wouldn't need to tax individuals as much. - Humphrey, this paper says that if we cancel Trident and bring in conscription, we shall have £1.5 billion for tax cuts, and what do I find? - What do you find, Prime Minister? - The Chancellor opposes me. A great chance to be popular with the voters and he says no. Doesn't that surprise you? - No. - Why doesn't it surprise you? - He's advised by the Treasury and they don't believe in giving money back. - It's not theirs. It's the taxpayers'. - That's not the view the Treasury takes. Not once they've got it. - But if they don't need it? - Sorry? - If they don't need it. - Taxation isn't about what you need. - What is it about? - The Treasury doesn't work out what they need to spend and then think how to raise the money. - What DOES it do? - They pitch for as much as they think they can get away with, then think what to spend it on. If you start giving money back because you don't need it, you're breaking with centuries of tradition!
• copsarebastards 11y ago
  I can see this as maybe being an alternative to credit cards, which I don't like. That said, I agree, we're surveilled enough thanks.