# Taxes as Public Record **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 24, 2011, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-as-public-record/603973 "2011-11-24T14:54:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-as-public-record/603973/1 "2011-11-24T14:54:19Z")
I wonder if the 1%, or even 5%, should disclose their gross incomes and taxes paid just to see what the story really is. I mean, they’re so eager to tell the rest of us to go eat cake, maybe they should put their money where their mouths are! What do they have to hide? ---
**Author:** ![emacknight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ec8ea/32.png) [@emacknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emacknight)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-as-public-record/603973/2 "2011-11-24T15:10:40Z")
I’d like their SSN, date of birth, and credit card numbers numbers too. While their at it, I’d like to see their credit card statements, what are these people buying with all that money? And I want the details of their investment portfolios. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-as-public-record/603973/3 "2011-11-24T15:26:03Z")
I’d be happy if they didn’t use fallacious slippery slope arguments in debates. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-as-public-record/603973/4 "2011-11-24T16:13:26Z")
I wonder when some so-called progressives are going to stop judging people solely by the economic class they are in. It’s no different from when conservatives dump on poor people for being lazy. ---
**Author:** ![emacknight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ec8ea/32.png) [@emacknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emacknight)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-as-public-record/603973/5 "2011-11-24T17:49:19Z")
What I want to know is how they knew I wanted cake. Usually I want pie, but since the crash I just can’t get enough cake. ---
**Author:** ![David42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@David42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David42)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-as-public-record/603973/6 "2011-11-24T17:58:29Z")
I’d be curious to see the exact numbers. But I couldn’t go for it as policy. If the rich want to show us something let them, voluntarily, and anonymously, if they like. ---
**Author:** ![drbhoneydew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d78d45/32.png) [@drbhoneydew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drbhoneydew)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-as-public-record/603973/7 "2011-11-24T21:29:30Z")
I think that there’s a problem with that plan in that people are absolutely rubbish at reasoning about very big numbers. Wow! X pays a million dollars in tax! But he earns 10 million, or a billion, or a trillion. But wow! X pays a million dollars in tax! What I’d like to see is what proportion of their income everyone pays in tax. Get those numbers we’re comparing down to less than 100. People are generally quite good at reasoning on that level. Wait a second! I pay 30%. How come X only pays 10%, or 0.01% or 0.00001? X has got a gold plated yacht fer chrissakes! (This conversation will be even more fun between the 5% and the 1%) ---
**Author:** ![MemoryLeak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6f9a4e/32.png) [@MemoryLeak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MemoryLeak)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-as-public-record/603973/8 "2011-11-24T21:40:04Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > I wonder if the 1%, or even 5%, should disclose their gross incomes and taxes paid just to see what the story really is. I mean, they’re so eager to tell the rest of us to go eat cake, maybe they should put their money where their mouths are! What do they have to hide? What’s wrong with [this](http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/indtaxstats/article/0,,id=134951,00.html)? There are several spreadsheets about a third of the way down that slice and dice it. Or do you literally want to see the individual return? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-as-public-record/603973/9 "2011-11-24T23:54:33Z")
I’ll settle for addresses and floor plans, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-as-public-record/603973/10 "2011-11-28T01:24:05Z")
I think that only the bottom 5% should disclose. Then we can see how much welfare they are getting in the form of the “Earned Income Tax Credit” where they get more money back than they paid in taxes. Seriously, though, the OP’s proposal has serious 14th amendment problems. You can’t pass laws saying that only X has to do Y. If so, I want to see all Jewish tax returns so I can prove that they really do control the media. (sarcasm)