Commentary: Re-using taxpayer’s data: scenarios for wealth management for the public

Tax Administrations have a huge amount of tax-related data that can be re-used for the benefit of the taxpayers, similarly to the way private banks and wealth managers use their clients’ financial information. However, usage of tax data is not trivial, as Tax Administrations have to adhere to legislation that does not allow them to compete with private actors. Public organizations cannot simply provide financial advisory services, even though it could be a way to increase tax compliance. This raises the question of how taxpayer’s data can be used in the future. Our objective is to explore future scenarios to empower the public in a fiscal and financial sense and improve wealth by re-using tax data. Future scenarios are described along two axes. One axis contains the content of the advice, and the other axis the participating actors. Concepts from wealth management, the wealth management pyramid and client segments, are used and extended for this purpose. To realize scenarios, barriers must be overcome in the field of law, workload, privacy, permission, quality of service and accountability, liability, consumer protection, the rights of citizens concerning data and funding. Implications are indicated in the scenarios and in further investigations. The value of this paper lies in exploring an original idea of re-using taxpayers’ data and to stimulate innovation in this area.