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Comment by deeblering4 | Hacker News Reader

And the .001 consistently encroach on our political policies for private benefit.

I see these tax loopholes as bugs/vulnerabilities in the tax code. And just like in software, bad actors have an incentive to keep the bugs in place.

Shedding light on them is a first step towards greater awareness and eventual fixes.

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> Taxes aren't and shouldn't be secret.

Cool. Would you mind sending me your tax returns (assuming you're in the US), or similar income history?

You can oppose tax loopholes without encroaching on the privacy of others. To use your example, imagine dumping hacked Facebook user data because you don't like bugs in Facebook software

> Imagine dumping hacked facebook user data because you don’t like bugs in Facebook software

No need for imagination here... This happens all the time. Data leaks are a regular outcome from security bugs/breeches.

And it's just as unethical in that case as well

Are you suggesting that the top “earners” who manipulate their taxes are acting ethically?

These people deserve (and can afford) every ounce of scrutiny they receive.

Suppose I like to donate to nonprofits supporting political dissidents of another nation and that makes me an assassination target, or hell political or adjacent orgs in this country (BLM, PP, NRA) and that makes me a harassment target

That's an unfair response. It's reasonable to want the rules to change for society and be willing to play along. That's different from wanting to be the only one to do it.

What's the argument in keeping it secret? Politicians routinely (Trump notably being the exception) release these all the time.

The bad actors with the most incentive to keep the bugs in place are the same people that put the bugs into the system: lawmakers. They might occasionally close a bug, but they are not interested in preventing them being introduced. They sell these bugs/vulnerabilities. That's the business they are in.

Ah yes, an eye for an eye.

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