Consider how Joe, a poor person, will prove to the IRS that he has no assets to tax. Proving a negative is impossible, unless you're working with a closed syste

Consider how Joe, a poor person, will prove to the IRS that he has no assets to tax. Proving a negative is impossible, unless you're working with a closed system. You can make the financial system closed by requiring all income and all assets to be reported to the IRS. The only way this works is if we all file asset statements, rich and poor. And that means an end to one of the last remaining forms of financial privacy - for everyone, not just the rich.