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From this link, I saw that Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) can bring the secure functioning for a decentralized database because it is governed by the rule of networks as well as avoiding cyber-crime.

However, the website said that

DLT has great potential to revolutionize the way governments, institutions, and corporations work. It can help governments with tax collection, the issuance of passports, recording land registries and licenses, and the outlay of Social Security benefits as well as voting procedures.

I am wondering how DLT can help the governments in tax collection and passport issuance as said above.

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By their nature, governments are well placed to use a hierarchical architecture to establish trust. There could be some central government certificate authority which issues and revokes keys in the name of the government.

DLT could get interesting for the government if a government wants to know about the status of some transaction between citizens or legal entities in their jurisdiction. Consider the cum-ex tax scandal. If the government had a well-documented timeline of the transactions and an API to access this, laws and regulations might have been written to make the fraud impractical. Similarly, a database of real estate deals might replace the traditional centralized land registration.

I cannot think of DLT for the other examples, which might be limited imagination or not falling for marketing hype.

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  • a very great example of cum_ex tax scandal. I enjoyed reading it. Thank you. Nov 19, 2021 at 20:20
  • And can I ask what is the benefit of using a database of real estate deals rather than traditionally centralized land registration from government perspective ? Nov 19, 2021 at 20:26
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    @Louise The traditional method has records in many different, unconnected databases. Reconciling them can be difficult.
    – Barmar
    Nov 19, 2021 at 23:38
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    @Louise, unlike Barmar I don't see the problem with unconnected databases here, I see the "problem" that people have to apply at the land registry office to have things changed and the office must process it. No real problem if a real-estate deal is an once-in-a-lifetime event, but it slows high-volume traders. Instead of just buyer and seller, the transaction involves buyer, seller, notary public and the government. People might call that old-fashioned red tape, or appropriate safeguards for such a deal ...
    – o.m.
    Nov 20, 2021 at 5:22

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