Tax, Technology and Privacy: The Coming Collision

Abstract

In the last decade a dominant storyline in the realm of technology and the law has been the rise of Big Data and the various state responses, or lack thereof, to concerns stemming from the same. At first, technology companies pursued methods of monetizing accumulated data almost by default — massive stores of data were a byproduct of other business ventures. Like early wildcat oil drillers that struck natural gas, the stores of data was seen more as a hindrance than anything else. Over time, oil companies found a use for natural gas and Silicon Valley found a use for our stores of data. The next trove of data is going to be found in our tax information. Let us insure that this time, from the outset, our privacy is kept front of mind.