There was a time we solved that problem by... Not having taxes be considered sensitive information. At the inception of the federal tax, the federal government

There was a time we solved that problem by... Not having taxes be considered sensitive information. At the inception of the federal tax, the federal government didn't have enough agents to enforce it. So they actually made the filings public so that people could police each other... You'd be able to see your neighbor claiming poverty when you knew they owned twenty acres and sic the fuzz on them. Something to be said for not letting people do their finances in the dark...