Privacy

[Dîn-Heru]

The what do you guys think of Norway's decision to open up all tax records?

The tax records are open because of tradition, however it used to be that you had to go to tax-office to look through them (if I remember correctly it was so that you could check and see if you were taxed fairly compared to your neighbors). These days it is distributed to the media who puts them online with all sorts of fancy search possibilities.

The reason they give is that it supposedly foster debate around the tax system and that it helps catch tax evaders.

First of all the only numbers shown are income, tax amount and wealth. It does not show what has been deducted and so on, ie there is not enough information given to actually be able to debate the system...

Secondly, I can't remember hearing about a single person having been caught for tax evasion due to the information in the lists. (I don't have time to check the newspapers, so I might be wrong but I doubt it)

Basically all the media do with the lists are making top 10 lists of who has the greatest wealth, income and so on. Not critical journalism, which is the supposed reason for making the lists available to the media. To sum up it is used for social pornography and nothing else.

Now, I don't mind the list being available to the public, what I mind is how its currently done. If it were to go back to the old system of only being available at the tax office (and given to the media, but not posted online by them to generate visits to their sites) I would not have a problem with it.

[Aemilius Paulus]

The tax records are open because of tradition, however it used to be that you had to go to tax-office to look through them (if I remember correctly it was so that you could check and see if you were taxed fairly compared to your neighbors). These days it is distributed to the media who puts them online with all sorts of fancy search possibilities.

The reason they give is that it supposedly foster debate around the tax system and that it helps catch tax evaders.

First of all the only numbers shown are income, tax amount and wealth. It does not show what has been deducted and so on, ie there is not enough information given to actually be able to debate the system...

Secondly, I can't remember hearing about a single person having been caught for tax evasion due to the information in the lists. (I don't have time to check the newspapers, so I might be wrong but I doubt it)

Basically all the media do with the lists are making top 10 lists of who has the greatest wealth, income and so on. Not critical journalism, which is the supposed reason for making the lists available to the media. To sum up it is used for social pornography and nothing else.

Now, I don't mind the list being available to the public, what I mind is how its currently done. If it were to go back to the old system of only being available at the tax office (and given to the media, but not posted online by them to generate visits to their sites) I would not have a problem with it.

According to their gov't, the only reason was to show just how transparent Norway is . I doubt people will sift through millions of records for inconsistencies... It would make a man mad... But of course, the hidden purpose is to irk the wealthy. Now they will come under closer scrutiny than ever, and through that, through the guilt and shame, they can be perhaps brought to some sort of proactive action...

[Dîn-Heru]

According to their gov't, the only reason was to show just how transparent Norway is . I doubt people will sift through millions of records for inconsistencies... It would make a man mad... But of course, the hidden purpose is to irk the wealthy. Now they will come under closer scrutiny than ever, and through that, through the guilt and shame, they can be perhaps brought to some sort of proactive action...

Disclaimer: I am Norwegian, I am just studying in Melbourne at the moment.

The tax lists have been available online for many years know, the previous conservative government restricted (limited) how long the media were allowed to post them online, then the social-democrats and their partners came back and reversed that supposedly to increase transparency.

Every year there are headlines of the richest people paying nothing in personal taxes and having no income. And it is mostly the same people over and over. Does this cause a debate over how the tax system works, no, it simply feeds into the notion that we have to get the rich (uncritically). As I said in my previous post what the list show are income, tax paid and wealth. It does not show how these numbers were reached, so even if a billionaire have no income and pays no tax it does not mean he/she has actually done anything wrong in the eyes of the law (even if it seems unfair to a person who see the government taking a big bite out of their paycheck).

(Also, Norway is a small country, 4,5 million, it should not be that hard for the government to get the rich people to pay more in taxes if they really wanted to seeing as they know who they are...)

Like I said, I don't mind the lists being public, I do mind them being posted online as they serve no purpose other than feeding into a voyeur mentality of spying on your neighbors. Relating to the actual topic, your financial situation is your own business (and in this case the government's), not something that everybody with access to internet have a right to know...