Post
Topic
Board Legal
Re: It is now next to impossible to spend bitcoins legally if your american
by
DeathAndTaxes
on 26/03/2014, 23:19:39 UTC
its not reasonable to expect people to start looking up what the exchange rate was when they received their bitcoins just so they could buy a cup of coffee without breaking the law.

The same thing applies to a US tourist traveling overseas.  You take $100 and exchange it for 300 pesos (an example no idea what the exchange rate is) and by the time you spend those 300 pesos they are worth $102.81.  You "should" report that $2.81 as taxable income.

Does anyone do that?  Does the IRS try to round up every single $0.37 in taxes owed? No.  The reality is most people are not compliant with the tax code.  It is asinine in its complexity.  The average tax return has a half dozen errors or omissions.  Now if you buy some Bitcoins and later buy a $40M yatch with those Bitcoins he probably should consult with a CPA on the capital gain impact.