Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
The 10,000 bitcoins that seven years ago famously paid for the delivery of two Papa John's pizzas would be worth more than $74 million today.
The exploding value of the cryptocurrency since its first real-world transaction in 2010 is one reason the U.S. Internal Revenue Service is pushing to see records on thousands of users of Coinbase Inc., one of the biggest U.S. online exchanges. The company's digital currency platform allows gains to be converted into old-fashioned dollars in transactions that the IRS alleges are going unreported.
Coinbase and industry trade groups are fighting back in court, claiming the government's concerns about tax fraud are unfounded and that its sweeping demand for information is a threat to privacy.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 12 2017, @07:31PM (1 child)
It's pretty easy from tax standpoint. Bitcoin is an asset. When you dispose of it, you calculate amount of gains/loses you sustained, and that is what you report for taxes. It's no different paying in bitcoin than paying in shares of Microsoft, or Facebook or paying with gold. All are assets. All are under capital asset rules.
As to transferring it, well, that's your problem. Just like it's your problem if you want to transfer gold, or coal, or manure to someone else ;)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 13 2017, @01:54AM
Except the US government does not like their livestock trading gold, and they tax it at higher "collectible" rates.