Good idea? Bad idea? Looks to me like yet another quiet giveaway to the big data collation houses and private marketeers who have demonstrated (a) insatiable hunger for personal information and (b) zero morals about treating confidential information responsibly.
I say bad idea, and I can’t imagine how anybody would think it’s a good idea. Hence, this debate thread.
I’m also curious about why this hasn’t attracted more attention. Maybe this’ll be like the Dubai deal where it sails along under the radar for a while before exploding into a huge controversy. The article linked above is front page, above the fold, in the paper’s print edition.
I prepare tax returns professionally, and I think this proposal is a terrible idea. How can I keep my client’s information confidential and sell it at the same time? It is like being a little bit pregnant.
A very important phrase in that cite: "The proposed rules, which would become effective 30 days after a final version is published, would require a tax preparer to obtain written consent before selling tax information."
If you want to let your preparer sell your info, why shouldn’t you be able to?
It would be pretty easy to trick or pressure someone into signing something like that, when they already have a shaky grasp of the matter and are trusting a professional. Plus, if this becomes law how long do you think it’ll be before that requirement is quietly erased or simply ignored ? A year ? Two ?
Yep. First of all, getting someone to sign a document by hiding it amoung a 'stack of documents" is fraud. Next, you don’t sign that many documents when your taxes are done- you sign TWO- Federal and State (in states that have income taxes, so sometimes just one). And thirdly, if you’re a fool, well, no one can protect you.
The potential is there, but I’m having a hard time thinking of a use of this data that would justify the costs associated with gathering and analyzing it.
I say we let the free market handle this. If taxpayers don’t want their data sold, they can just do their taxes themselves. OH! Loook! I get all my withholding back again this year! Lather, rinse, repeat, 180 million times.
Ah, of course. Being somewhat paranoid about my personal information, it would never enter my mind.
It’s not clear to me exactly what information would be made available, but I’ll run under the assumption that all of it would be. Think about that; it’s not too difficult to come up with something. Medical expenses? Suddenly, any medical condition you might have is public knowledge. Don’t underestimate the power of data mining.
The worst thing about it, IMO, is that the more data is replicated, the more likely it is that it isn’t secure. Think identity theft and the innumerable incidents of hacking (innumerable because companies aren’t likely to report when they’ve been hacked; I seem to remember an estimate that less 10% of incidents are reported).
Could this open the door for bounty hunters combing through mountains of tax returns looking for any little fudge factor and reporting them to the IRS?
Think insurance companies bribing paying tax companies to look for any excuse to raise the rates. Think ending up with more harassment phone calls/spam/bulk mail from marketeers.
The only people this will really benefit are tax companies and data miners.
According to IRS rules, it would be a pain in the backside to submit multiple forms, and the pay out would be dependant on what an audit turned up; but you are correct, it does seem they pay a ‘bounty’ of sorts.
