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however looking at it from an international perspective, if i am paid in BTC by someone operating out of the US (for example) and they tell the US taxman that t

however looking at it from an international perspective, if i am paid in BTC by someone operating out of the US (for example) and they tell the US taxman that they paid someone in the EU for the work then the US taxman is not coming looking for me. as for meeting someone who turns out to be a tax investigator so what, localbitcoins.com and sites like it require no registration or even adding any personal details, unless I give the taxman my details he will not know who I am. Plus localbitcoins.com is not even necessary any forum could be used to arrange to meet and trade/sell BTC. I guess what i am saying i that BTC allows people to avoid the taxman entirely. In your example of a company buying services, they are unlikely to use a BTC site to hire a feelancer, preferring to stay within the remit of fiat currencies and the taxman, however for individuals it is much more appropriate and much less interesting to the taxman,.

RobAley 14y ago
Indeed, for private individual - individual transactions, particularly low value transactions, you are most unlikely to be caught as there is much less interest to the taxman. To which end, you can just use cash. This article however is about business/freelance type work. And at least here in the UK, the taxman is just as interested in individuals doing business deals as it is with corps. If you think that you don't run the risk of getting caught, bear in mind that anonymous off-the-books cash transactions, including international deals, have been happening since time immemorial, and the taxman regularly collars offenders. With regards to localbitcoin, the moment you hand over your btc in return for their cash, (here in the UK at least) a taxable transaction has occurred and they can compel (via arrest if necessary) you to provide your identity. If you avoid public forums and launder your btc with only trusted friends/contacts, you may get away with it. But you're limiting your market and reducing the exchange rate you'll get. And if you start pulling in larger amounts and converting that to cash successfully anonymously, you start having the same problems drug dealers do when laundering their money that came from untaxed sources. Here in the UK, you won't be able to use bank accounts as money laundering regs mean larger deposits have to be explained and notified, and of course bank records are just that, records. Likewise if you go to purchase that shiny new car in cash, money laundering regs kick in again. So for small amounts you will probably get away with it, but the taxman doesn't care too much about those, and such transactions already exist as "cash-in-hand" work without btc. Bigger transactions are just as problematic as cash, unless everything you want to buy is available from sellers who accept btc and delete their shipping records (or provide the product digitally).

RobAley 14y ago

Indeed, for private individual - individual transactions, particularly low value transactions, you are most unlikely to be caught as there is much less interest to the taxman. To which end, you can just use cash. This article however is about business/freelance type work. And at least here in the UK, the taxman is just as interested in individuals doing business deals as it is with corps. If you think that you don't run the risk of getting caught, bear in mind that anonymous off-the-books cash transactions, including international deals, have been happening since time immemorial, and the taxman regularly collars offenders. With regards to localbitcoin, the moment you hand over your btc in return for their cash, (here in the UK at least) a taxable transaction has occurred and they can compel (via arrest if necessary) you to provide your identity. If you avoid public forums and launder your btc with only trusted friends/contacts, you may get away with it. But you're limiting your market and reducing the exchange rate you'll get. And if you start pulling in larger amounts and converting that to cash successfully anonymously, you start having the same problems drug dealers do when laundering their money that came from untaxed sources. Here in the UK, you won't be able to use bank accounts as money laundering regs mean larger deposits have to be explained and notified, and of course bank records are just that, records. Likewise if you go to purchase that shiny new car in cash, money laundering regs kick in again. So for small amounts you will probably get away with it, but the taxman doesn't care too much about those, and such transactions already exist as "cash-in-hand" work without btc. Bigger transactions are just as problematic as cash, unless everything you want to buy is available from sellers who accept btc and delete their shipping records (or provide the product digitally).