The 2006 tax lists are out!

One of the most bizarre things about living here is that tax records are public. Want to find out how much your neighbor made last year? How much tax he paid? His net worth? Everyone's addresses and tax records are in binders on display in the lobby at City Hall. Or now, in the Internet age, you can search them online from most major newspapers' websites. Bergens Tidende (www.bt.no) also posts helpful lists of the top 100 earners in all of the major metropolitan areas.
An example: bt.no tell me that Norway's current prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, earned 1101918 kroner last year and paid 483083 kroner in taxes. He has zero net worth for purposes of the wealth tax, which means his mortgage is more than what he's got in the bank plus his other assets.
In the States, even if you work for the IRS, looking at someone's tax records without authorization is a criminal offense. Here it's all out in the open. I've heard various explanations for this. One Norwegian told me it's a way to check on tax compliance -- if your neighbor is only paying tax on 20 grand a year but just bought a new speedboat, you might want to mention it to the tax authorities. Another told me it's a relic from a time when doing well enough to pay taxes was a point of pride; this era, she added, is over. A horrified American speculated to me that it sounded like a socialist effort at public shaming of the wealthy. Whatever the reasoning, however, that's the way it is. If you're wondering about other people's finances, you don't have to wonder very long.
If you look me up, please remember I only worked four months here last year....