The tax man googleth —

European tax inspectors take to Google Street View to investigate cheats

Lithuanian authorities say they've found “dozens of alleged tax violations."

Here in the United States, Monday marks our annual Tax Day, when we’re all supposed to get our tax returns in to the government. (Disclosure: I filed yesterday!) While our Internal Revenue Service will reportedly be using public accounts on social media as a way to make sure Americans aren’t cheating on their taxes, corresponding tax authorities across the pond are now using Google Street View to investigate tax dodgers.

In Lithuania, inspectors have found “dozens of alleged tax violations involving housing construction and property sales,” by finding houses on Google Street View where records showed there previously weren’t.

‘‘Our inspectors track these buildings on the Internet, and if a violation seems obvious, they visit the sites," Darius Buta, a spokesman for the State Tax Inspectorate, told the Associated Press. "This saves lots of time and resources."

Further up the Baltic Sea, Estonia’s tax authority says it’s doing the same thing (though the country hasn't confirmed if it’s caught anyone).

“Google Map Street View is an additional source of information that we may use before evaluating locations with the aim of assessing real estate, for example, if a person has declared little or no income, but the house where that person lives has great value,” Tõnis Kuuse, the head of the Intelligence Department at the Estonian Tax and Customs Board, told the daily newspaper, Äripäev (Google Translate).

In 2010, the Greek government was reportedly using Google Earth to find undeclared swimming pools.

Channel Ars Technica