taxes, marketers, and the long nose of uncle sam

We pretty much have to let Uncle Sam know our business when it comes to income and finances. There appears to be no getting around that. Taxes are one of the costs of citizenship. When we itemize our taxes, we provide an incredibly detailed picture of our lives, from how we earn our money, to how we spend it. I'd imagine that marketers would probably really like to get their hands on that type of information.

But we also have an expectation that the federal government will treat us as citizens, and not as consumers. When those marketers are the ones processing our taxes for us, it's time to make a little noise (pdf).