4 ms·

It'd be great to read the arguments against making them public. There's good reasons why we should make them public available here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/

It'd be great to read the arguments against making them public. There's good reasons why we should make them public available here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/business/yourtaxes/14disclose.html http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/business/yourtaxes/14discl... Secrecy is good in many places, but I can't think of why it is good for tax returns, asides from perhaps allowing criminals to more easily target those with high incomes?

paulddraper 9y ago
Same reason why I have an opaque fence instead of a transparent one. I prefer for every random passerby to know full details of everything I do.
- cwkoss 9y ago
  I think you missed a negation
TimPC 9y ago
How about start-ups? If employers have access to your salary history in terms of a taxable compensation number but no access to information on what your options were this seems to suggest that employers will discriminate against start-up workers who traded off compensation, since their automated HR look-up would be unwilling to give someone the big raise related to not having equity and working in big corp.
- mjevans 9y ago
  I've never had stock options to list; wouldn't those also be assets you need to declare on taxes?
  - cbanek 9y ago
    Only when you exercise the options.
- jogjayr 9y ago
  OTOH job-seekers would know what current employees at the company make and demand similar compensation.
winston_smith 9y ago
Public tax returns would make it much easier for people to put pressure on others working toward financial independence. In some poor communities, there's a strong ethic of sharing good fortune. That's good in many ways, but also makes it hard to climb out of poverty. More generally, lots of people have unbounded spending habits, and some will put a lot of pressure on friends/family if they find out they have any savings.
- dj-wonk 9y ago
  For what it is worth, every time I hear the phrase "working toward financial independence", it sounds like Newspeak to me. Let's call it what it is: almost everyone wants to make money because satisfying our various needs is part of the human condition.
  - thaumasiotes 9y ago
    I think the phrase "financial independence" has a lot to offer as a description of a mode of living that poor communities generally do not display. A lot of poor people spend a sort of weighted average of the earnings of their family group -- if your personal income happens to be down right now, you can borrow money from someone who's having an up period. This is what winston_smith is referring to when he says "in some poor communities, there's a strong ethic of sharing good fortune", and it's a different concept than "money is good".
  - delinka 9y ago
    Or it could mean "having made and then saved enough to make one's own way in a capitalistic economy instead of being at the behest of employers."
Spooky23 9y ago
I've worked in the public sector, where salaries and benefits are public record. It's all on the website of several different media organizations. I can think of no harm that has resulted. The downside in the private sector is that employees will find out how much they are getting screwed around with. Double downside when those employees figure out why.
ramblenode 9y ago
Personal privacy? An interested party could learn a lot about someone from deductions: marital status, children, charitable contributions, etc. Not to mention income, which people have a variety of reasons for not sharing. Considering how many databases my face is probably linked to now and how good facial recognition technology is becoming, I'm not keen on tax records becoming another set of labels some real-time smart camera can attach to me walking down the street.

paulddraper 9y ago

Same reason why I have an opaque fence instead of a transparent one. I prefer for every random passerby to know full details of everything I do.

cwkoss 9y ago
I think you missed a negation

TimPC 9y ago

How about start-ups? If employers have access to your salary history in terms of a taxable compensation number but no access to information on what your options were this seems to suggest that employers will discriminate against start-up workers who traded off compensation, since their automated HR look-up would be unwilling to give someone the big raise related to not having equity and working in big corp.

mjevans 9y ago
I've never had stock options to list; wouldn't those also be assets you need to declare on taxes?
- cbanek 9y ago
  Only when you exercise the options.
jogjayr 9y ago
OTOH job-seekers would know what current employees at the company make and demand similar compensation.

winston_smith 9y ago

Public tax returns would make it much easier for people to put pressure on others working toward financial independence. In some poor communities, there's a strong ethic of sharing good fortune. That's good in many ways, but also makes it hard to climb out of poverty. More generally, lots of people have unbounded spending habits, and some will put a lot of pressure on friends/family if they find out they have any savings.

dj-wonk 9y ago
For what it is worth, every time I hear the phrase "working toward financial independence", it sounds like Newspeak to me. Let's call it what it is: almost everyone wants to make money because satisfying our various needs is part of the human condition.
- thaumasiotes 9y ago
  I think the phrase "financial independence" has a lot to offer as a description of a mode of living that poor communities generally do not display. A lot of poor people spend a sort of weighted average of the earnings of their family group -- if your personal income happens to be down right now, you can borrow money from someone who's having an up period. This is what winston_smith is referring to when he says "in some poor communities, there's a strong ethic of sharing good fortune", and it's a different concept than "money is good".
- delinka 9y ago
  Or it could mean "having made and then saved enough to make one's own way in a capitalistic economy instead of being at the behest of employers."

Spooky23 9y ago

I've worked in the public sector, where salaries and benefits are public record. It's all on the website of several different media organizations. I can think of no harm that has resulted. The downside in the private sector is that employees will find out how much they are getting screwed around with. Double downside when those employees figure out why.

ramblenode 9y ago

Personal privacy? An interested party could learn a lot about someone from deductions: marital status, children, charitable contributions, etc. Not to mention income, which people have a variety of reasons for not sharing. Considering how many databases my face is probably linked to now and how good facial recognition technology is becoming, I'm not keen on tax records becoming another set of labels some real-time smart camera can attach to me walking down the street.