Bitcoin Exchange Ordered To Give IRS Years Of Data On Millions Of Users.

http://gizmodo.com/bitcoin-exchange-ordered-to-give-irs-years-of-data-on-m-1789544707

On Wednesday, a federal judge authorized a summons requiring Coinbase, America's largest Bitcoin service, to provide the IRS with the records of every user who traded on the site between 2014 and 2015. Covering the identities and transaction histories of millions of costumers, the request is believed to be the largest single attempt to identify tax evaders using virtual currency to date.

As a so-called "John Doe" summons, the document targets a particular group or class of taxpayers--rather than individuals--the agency has a "reasonable basis" to believe may have broken the law. According to The New York Times, the IRS argued that two cases of tax evasion involving Coinbase combined with Bitcoin's "relatively high level of anonymity" serve as that basis.

"There is no allegation in this suit that Coinbase has engaged in any wrongdoing in connection with its virtual currency exchange business," said the Justice Department on Wednesday. "Rather, the IRS uses John Doe summonses to obtain information about possible violations of internal revenue laws by individuals whose identities are unknown."


Comments


[14 Points] nameless993:

I doubt they will stop with Coinbase. Circle, Xapo, you are probably coming up soon.

Deleted all my accounts. Linking my bank accounts to my Bitcoin usage was a mistake, one that I knew I was committing from the very first day.

I guess I did not expect Bitcoin to get so big it attracted the taxman.


[5 Points] Unknown_60:

Gotta love LBC


[4 Points] Blow-that-Doge:

Just use XMR .... cant link anything


[3 Points] wombat2combat:

better formatting:

Bitcoin Exchange Ordered to Give IRS Years of Data on Millions of Users

On Wednesday, a federal judge authorized a summons requiring Coinbase, America’s largest Bitcoin service, to provide the IRS with the records of every user who traded on the site between 2014 and 2015. Covering the identities and transaction histories of millions of costumers, the request is believed to be the largest single attempt to identify tax evaders using virtual currency to date.

As a so-called “John Doe” summons, the document targets a particular group or class of taxpayers—rather than individuals—the agency has a “reasonable basis” to believe may have broken the law. According to The New York Times, the IRS argued that two cases of tax evasion involving Coinbase combined with Bitcoin’s “relatively high level of anonymity” serve as that basis.

“There is no allegation in this suit that Coinbase has engaged in any wrongdoing in connection with its virtual currency exchange business,” said the Justice Department on Wednesday. “Rather, the IRS uses John Doe summonses to obtain information about possible violations of internal revenue laws by individuals whose identities are unknown.”

In a statement, Coinbase vowed to fight the summons, which the company’s head counsel has previously characterized as a “very, very broad” fishing expedition.

“We are aware of, and expected, the Court’s ex parte order today,” wrote a Coinbase spokesperson on Reddit. “We look forward to opposing the DOJ’s request in court after Coinbase is served with a subpoena.”

In 2014, the IRS released a notice clarifying that virtual currencies like Bitcoin are property and subject to tax laws as such. Among other things, this means taxpayers are required to report profits made through trading them as taxable income.


[1 Points] None:

coinbase sucks anyways imo


[1 Points] SloppyJoeLieberman:

Definitely not good. Just wait until they start sending out tax forms for you. My best guess is they will initially go after those moving large sums to launder or hide major activities. The fact that all of our information will be in that pile is a big red flag though.

What's the plan? Un-link accounts on the BTC exchanges? LBC? XMR? Belize?


[-6 Points] None:

[deleted]