How stupid is this?
Norway releases records on each taxpayer's income and wealth
Norway's tax authorities, operating under a new law, have released official records showing the annual income and overall wealth of nearly every taxpayer in the country, the Associated Press reports.
The "skatteliste" or "tax list" for 2008 is given to the media under a law aimed at promoting transparency.
The law emphasized that "first and foremost, it's the press that can contribute to a critical debate" on wealth and the elaborate tax scheme that, along with the country's oil wealth, keeps Norway's extensive â and expensive â welfare system afloat, the AP says.
The list, for example, shows that actress and director Liv Ullmann earned $17,300 in Norway, and has a wealth of $2.5 million. Income earned or kept abroad, or otherwise in some sort of tax shelter, is not included, the AP says.
Former cross-country skiing great Bjoern Daehlie, who has eight Olympic gold medals, is worth $5.4 million.
"Isn't this how a social democracy ought to work, with openness, transparency and social equality as ideals?" columnist Jan Omdahl wrote in the tabloid Dagbladet.
Omdahl conceded, however, that many people treat the list as "tax porno," that allows them to check the income of neighbors of co-workers.
Critics say the list is actually a threat to society.
"What each Norwegian earns and what you have in wealth is a private matter between the taxpayer and the government," said Jon Stordrange, director of the Norwegian Taxpayer's Association.
He also said the list gives criminals valuable information for picking prime targets and generates playground taunts of my-dad-is-richer-than-your-dad.
Norway releases records on each taxpayer's income and wealth
Norway's tax authorities, operating under a new law, have released official records showing the annual income and overall wealth of nearly every taxpayer in the country, the Associated Press reports.
The "skatteliste" or "tax list" for 2008 is given to the media under a law aimed at promoting transparency.
The law emphasized that "first and foremost, it's the press that can contribute to a critical debate" on wealth and the elaborate tax scheme that, along with the country's oil wealth, keeps Norway's extensive â and expensive â welfare system afloat, the AP says.
The list, for example, shows that actress and director Liv Ullmann earned $17,300 in Norway, and has a wealth of $2.5 million. Income earned or kept abroad, or otherwise in some sort of tax shelter, is not included, the AP says.
Former cross-country skiing great Bjoern Daehlie, who has eight Olympic gold medals, is worth $5.4 million.
"Isn't this how a social democracy ought to work, with openness, transparency and social equality as ideals?" columnist Jan Omdahl wrote in the tabloid Dagbladet.
Omdahl conceded, however, that many people treat the list as "tax porno," that allows them to check the income of neighbors of co-workers.
Critics say the list is actually a threat to society.
"What each Norwegian earns and what you have in wealth is a private matter between the taxpayer and the government," said Jon Stordrange, director of the Norwegian Taxpayer's Association.
He also said the list gives criminals valuable information for picking prime targets and generates playground taunts of my-dad-is-richer-than-your-dad.
