Taxation and Big Brother: Information, Personalization, and Privacy in 21st Century Tax Policy

Ross School of Business Paper No. 1022

Fiscal Studies, Forthcoming

25 Pages Posted: 10 Mar 2006

See all articles by Joel B. Slemrod

Joel B. Slemrod

University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Abstract

The transmission and processing of information is at the core of taxation, and one of the great ongoing technological resolutions has been in information technology. Looking forward ten, twenty, or thirty years, what are the implications of technological advancements for tax policy? How will, and how should, tax policy be different twenty years from now than it is today?

This paper argues that, although the new technology greatly facilitates the use of taxpayer information to create a personalized tax system, there are forces pushing the tax system in the opposite direction, toward a radically depersonalized tax system, partly out of concern over the infringement on privacy of the information.

Keywords: tax policy, technology, privacy

JEL Classification: H20, H29

Suggested Citation

Slemrod, Joel B., Taxation and Big Brother: Information, Personalization, and Privacy in 21st Century Tax Policy. Ross School of Business Paper No. 1022, Fiscal Studies, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=889351

Joel B. Slemrod (Contact Author)

University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

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