I don't see how this is good news. I am not trying to troll here, I was just talking to people the other day and telling them my arguments for Bitcoin being around for a very very long time. I was really excited about Bitcoin.
But this is a deathblow. How will businesses keep track of what a coin was worth when they exchanged a good or service for said bitcoin? This Bloomberg article puts it perfectly
"Todays IRS guidance will provide certainty for Bitcoin investors, along with income-tax liability that wasnt specified before. Purchasing a $2 cup of coffee with Bitcoins bought for $1 would trigger $1 in capital gains for the coffee drinker and $2 of gross income for the coffee shop. "http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-25/bitcoin-is-property-not-currency-in-tax-system-irs-says.htmlI am no economics major, but can someone please explain to me how this is a positive bit of news? I was hoping Bitcoin would be handled as a currency, or at least a foreign currency...this pretty much means any business trying to adopt bitcoin will have to think long and hard about the implications.
I am no economics major either, but just common sense tells me how is it different if the customer is paying the coffee shop $2 cash or credit card payment for the same cup of coffee? The coffee shop point-of-sale system still record it as a $2 income if it is paid via Bitcoin.