Federal Income Tax Returns – Confidentiality vs. Public Disclosure

Abstract

This article will examine the relationship between the individual's interest in privacy, reflected in such recent statutes as the Privacy Act of 1974, and the public's right to know, which underlies legislation like the Freedom of Information Act. The subject is of intrinsic importance, but it is particularly appropriate for an article in this lecture series, since privacy and disclosure were values of special interest to Justice Douglas. Neither the individual's right to privacy nor the public's right to know is explicitly protected by the Constitution, but both do have constitutional overtones, and both are protected by various statutory provisions.