tax authorities have single function within governments which did not change for thousands of years.

they collect the share of citizens’ revenue in the name of the government.

various tools are used in this process, from patriotic marketing to imprisonment.

social media gives governments and tax authorities new tools and opportunities.

government and its tax authorities need to know how much a citizen has so they can take their share.

some citizens are not so happy to disclose how much they have in hope they will trick the government.

social media in general contains a lot of data on citizen’s commercial behavior.

for example foursquare and instagram expose citizen’s lifestyles very openly.

government could get access to that data and analyze it.

today’s governments are desperate and they seek any means possible to get their hands on more cash.

it might not be surprising if they start being more proactive about using social media data.

this post is illustrated by caravaggio’s the calling of saint matthew.