Bitcoin Forum

Given that there are no defined regulations for bitcoin in my country, is it possible that stores posting the "bitcoin accepted here" sign are evading tax by letting their customers pay with BTC?

How is that any different than accepting cash? also stores that accept BTC probably do so thru a 3rd party, which can be reporting the transactions to tax authorities.

If there are just one or two shops offering that,then it would not become an issue.But if more shops starts offering such bitcoin payments,definitely it would become a matter of serious concern for the government authorities.Definitely,the government would start losing the revenue got from sales tax or VAT.So,they would have to check with authorities.But this would be an issue only till bitcoin gets legalized in a country.In india too,its going to get legalized soon within six months and we can expect more retail stores in india accepting bitcoin payments.
           But the other thing what we should concern about is that most people have started to treat bitcoin as a valuable asset and just store it and i think more people will not be ready to spend their bitcoins for buying some thing which could be bought with fiat cash itself.Just my opinion.

No. And it doesn't matter how many shops have this sign in their window, etc.

The tax authorities don't care how you receive payment, they just want to make sure that all of your income is reported and assessed the appropriate tax.

The best thing you can do when you see those signs is go in and buy something with Bitcoin! Or at least give some praise to the shopkeeper for making Bitcoin part of their business. Tell them that everyone here appreciates it!

Who cares about Tax authorities  :D

Bitcoin is free money people. FREE. Meaning free from government control, corruption and war mongering.

Free from filthy bankers with no real agenda but more pockets for their empty souls.

Taxation is a sin, and our governments are able to do it because of an outdated system. This shouldn't even be a question.

Bitcoin is part of the revolution baby. Ain't no one going to tax my free spirit.

I'm gonna spend my Bitcoins freely at every shop I see that has the sticker.

calm down there mister libertarian.  I don't think it's unreasonable for governments to require that people or businesses disclose income from bitcoin for tax purposes.  Taxes are necessary for infrastructure and other public works.  You might not agree with everything the government spends taxes on, and neither do I, but a lot of things that make your daily life better exist because of them.  If bitcoin wants to become a real mainstream currency, governments will have to have a say in it.

Most businesses that accept bitcoins have owners that are A) Open to new technology or B) Looking to appeal to people that are open to new technology. Whether they avoid taxes or not is up to the individual.

A lot of cash businesses avoid tax. It's much easier without a public ledger wouldn't you say?

Accepting payments with bitcoin is not a way to avoid taxes, but give a convenience for clients. Because taxes apply for store revenue, not for the payment system. When you pay the taxes officers just ask your income, not how to receive your payments. CMIIW.

no the stores can not avoid taxes. it doesn't matter how they are receiving the money they have to pay their taxes, they can cheat the government and report false income if they can but getting caught would be much worse for them.
and bitcoin not being regulated in your country means not that many people know or use it. if stores started using bitcoin and enough people were to spend it there, be sure that it will be regulated soon.

I have not seen any retail stores with a signage that says "Bitcoin accepted here" and I don't see any harm if it does display such a sign. I guess it would also have to depend on the government regulations of the country regarding the acceptance of Bitcoin. Yes, I'm pretty sure there are taxes imposed if ever. I don't think it would be a problem for numerous retail stores to accept bitcoin as a payment system, it would be beneficial even. More bitcoin users would have more options for them and at the same time, it would increase the popularity of Bitcoin.

So long as the retail store is not disobeying any law or government regulation, and their acts are lawful then I don't think putting up the signage would be a problem.

Haha, you must not have much Bitcoin.

Tax authorities are a mother fucker...and it's hard to enjoy your Bitcoin stash when you're sitting in jail for tax evasion. Your spirit is free, Bitcoin costs money or time.

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To the OP, how many of these shops with the BTC accepted here signs in the window have you seen? Are we talking 5 or 20? We should be sharing these locations with each other.

what you should know is that there are much easier ways of avoiding taxes than using bitcoin. it is the same for many other things that people keep asking here such as money laundering, or generally some other illegal activities. they are all much easier done with other methods such as using cash directly.
using bitcoin will actually make all of these much harder for them to perform and it makes it even easier for the law enforcement to find and catch them with the proof publicly and undeniably available!!!

I am really looking forward with this, really. In fact I am waiting approximately 4 years since I knew bitcoin. But for the 3 of those four I am not a bitcoin supporter and treated bitcoin as a scam thing. But that is wrong. If the stores opened up that they will accept bitcoin as mode of payment then it will be so good for us. We will see the benefits out of this.

Some retail stores are not even giving official receipts to customers so that in a way is like another way for them to evade taxes. But I don't believe it would be an issue if a retailer accepts bitcoin as payment. It is always up to the government to regulate any such usage and if regulations are not put in place, then there's no fault to be found if if indeed the retailer chooses to accept bitcoin. There are bigger tax issues that are left unattended so this shouldn't be too much of a concern.

Displaying the sign does not mean that they are evading taxes at all. A lot of these merchants use payment processors and their bitcoins are converted into cash immediately on receipt. The payment processor are regulated and has to adhere to KYC/AML regulations, so the merchant using those services, would already be reporting to the tax authorities. < no way to avoid taxes >

In the end, you as a merchant will have to explain to the authorities when you get audited and it will be tricky if you did not pay taxes on the income you received via Bitcoin.

Well, when your shopping centers and employers started adopting bitcoin. Fiat market days is basically numbered. Tell you what, when I'm still employed I've ask my payroll If they're exploring other methods of payment and I suggested bitcoin. They'll look at me like I'm crazy. I ended resigning months after. Now I've doubled my networth in few months doing bitcoin than what I'm earning a year at my previous employer. Seems a good decision so far.

Accepting bitcoin is not a tax evasion by itself. Tax inspector can just take a look thru your bitcoin adress and calculate a tax that you will need to pay. Also you can use any 3rd party or maybe any special wallet for that kind of transactions.

i think it is possible to do but we need to read about government regulations in that country so if we posting the "bitcoin accepted here" sign we don't break the law. it is important for us to do because we don't want our store being investigated for taxes. i think you can give a sign like sticker in the casier desk or in front of your store.

It's actually easier to evade taxes if they accept cash payments. Bitcoin are usually automatically transferred to their 3-rd party service like bitpay. They then withdraw to their bank account.

I don't see them avoiding the payment of taxes, as the withdrawal would then be done via a third party. It's also very hard to say if this thing of accepting bitcoins will be very popular with the customers. As it was already mentioned above, not everyone is ready to spend their precious coins on goods.

It amuses me that you think of as government. If stores accept bitcoins to evade taxes it is not necessary to blame the stores. Need to reduce the level of taxation and not to plunder the money. May be then there is no need to force them to pay taxes and shops will do it voluntarily?

I do not think that owners of such stores avoid paying taxes, they just want to draw attention to their store and make payment for purchases more convenient for their visitors.

In some countries, the government is less concerned about such things, because they’ve got more important things to do than look into such matters. Putting up a post/banner that reads “Bitcoin Accepted Here” is quite the same thing as saying “Gold Accepted Here”. So, these people are not doing any wrong thing.

But, I won’t be interested in paying with Bitcoin in a retail shop, it looks stupid to me, unless it’s online. What do you expect me.to do, sit down and waste my time sending Bitcoin and also waiting for confirmation time? No, it’s so stupid.

very interesting a store that makes like that, in my country for payment still use cash no one pay using bitcoin but if all store accept bitcoin then the goverment will monitor it and tax rules will be changed

I have not stumbled into any such store here in my country also and that’s depressing. Everyone is sleeping here. I want to enjoy paying my bills in Satoshis. It would be more comfortable and convenient for customers and shopkeepers as well. I hope I will soon discover a smart shopkeeper.

if im not mistaken i saw one of this but it is not saying the "bitcoin is accepted here" but you can buy bitcoin to them using fiat money. I know 7 eleven is one retail store that you can buy or load bitcoin directly in your wallet.