While funny, that doesn't really apply here. We're exchanging an apple for an orange. That is a very reasonable barter transaction and I see no reason that it d

While funny, that doesn't really apply here. We're exchanging an apple for an orange. That is a very reasonable barter transaction and I see no reason that it doesn't create value. In fact, the value is likely to be undercounted by GDP. People are taxed on income, so casual transactions like the orange-for-apple trade are likely to be left out of GDP simply because they are unreported. Your example is the opposite: over-counting GDP and the participants paying thousands of dollars in taxes.