In addition to other bad things already mentioned, any government enforcement usually comes with "prosecutorial discretion" -- freedom to choose whom to prosecute and whom to ignore.

Tracking all money spent would give a huge additional opportunity to many government agencies to harass those they find obnoxious. I have little doubt it would get misused very soon.

It's a wonderful way to fight things governments don't approve of. For example, generating a list of every person who bought food / water / whatever at a protest.

> tax-evasion

The meme that banning cash is a useful way to fight tax evasion is hilarious propaganda. Unreported cash transactions are tiny compared to the tax avoidance and evasion done by businesses and the rich. Banning cash doesn't make big business pay a real tax rate, nor does it prevent profits from being hidden in overseas accounts.

Blaming low tax revenue on cash is a convenient distraction. When everyone is focused on their fear that the average citizen might get away paying less taxes, nobody notices the people cooking the (non-cash) books and/o buying legislation.

Depends on who is doing the tracking and for what purpose.

I prefer societies that expect people to do the right thing and have measures in place to deal with anti-socials than societies that expect people to do the wrong thing and therefore try to control everybody for it.

Yes and no, and it all depends on what the black market consists of, if the laws are actually in line with the will of the vast majority of folks' morals (including those that aren't part of the majority), and things like that.

Do you want to have to report that you gave that teenager down the street $20 to mow your lawn, for example? That can make you an accomplice in tax evasion if the teen doesn't report that $20, and might make you run afoul of labor laws (after all, they probably couldn't work for a landscaping company because of dangerous equipment). You are unwittingly taking part in a black market at that point.

Now, if the data is used to make laws that are actually followable and allows for normal things such as the above to take place (which would make for a great deal of changes, including drug laws), maybe it would be a good thing. It would also need to be open enough for citizens to also track government spending and other things - otherwise, it would just be totalitarian.

Like most things it's a matter of opinion.

My opinion is: Anyone thinking the government being able to track every transaction could possibly be a net good thing is delusional.

It seems freedom and autonomy matters less and less these days.

No tracking is a terrible thing. Freedom is important. Concerns about taxes and black markets are meaningless if they eliminate freedom.

If they wanted to tax rich people they would tax land and not income.