Comment Re:The answer I used last was: (Score 2) 435
That is the position that I have always taken. This all comes down to Negotiation 101. The party with the most information has the advantage. The company knows the maximum that they are willing to pay. You know the minimum that you are willing to accept. The company definitely won't tell you their max so you shouldn't provide your minimum. Providing a salary history gives them a history of your minimums, so you don't want to provide that.
I think most people are afraid that they might be forced to walk away from a good job by not disclosing past salaries, but I have never seen that to be an issue. It is standard practice for the company to ask for this information, but it is also pretty standard for candidates to refuse to provide it. HR is generally not in a position to block the hiring of talented people because of this kind of issue. In fact, most engineers vastly underestimate the power that they have in job negotiations and leave a lot on the table.
So I always just leave it blank on any form I fill out and politely tell them it is none of their business if asked directly.