Are you going to pay taxes?

[gigitrix]

Yes. The British government may be wasteful, may support things I don't like etc. but I like the comfort of having roads, police, the NHS, councils, and some form of minimum wage control.

Oh yes, you're frothing at the mouth right now. I don't care.

Roads, police and valid wages can exist without taxes.

The NHS and councils are parasites.

Did you even read the last line?
Man, it's easy to get a libertarian mad...

[frozen]

Yes. The British government may be wasteful, may support things I don't like etc. but I like the comfort of having roads, police, the NHS, councils, and some form of minimum wage control.

Oh yes, you're frothing at the mouth right now. I don't care.

Roads, police and valid wages can exist without taxes.

The NHS and councils are parasites.

Did you even read the last line?
Man, it's easy to get a libertarian mad...

Just point a gun at him/her, or have a guy in a blue uniform do it for you... really easy.

[error]

Why would I voluntarily give my money to the roving armed pillage gangs who claim (falsely) that they're protecting me from roving armed pillage gangs?

[billyjoeallen]

If the State provided anything worth buying, they wouldn't have to force us to pay for it.

I pay taxes for the same reason I would hand over my wallet to an armed mugger.

[Lupus_Yonderboy]

You should always render unto Caeser. I look forward to the auctions where the US Gov't sells off the seized mining rigs of those who insist on tax evasion. Picking up mining hardware at pennies on the dollar and knowing that the previous owner is in an 8x10 cell is such a sweet double victory.

For those in the US who are going about this the smart way: begin consulting with a tax professional now. Their advice on how to structure everything will be invaluable later on. You can bet that that if Dwolla isn't reporting your info via SARs, then after a bit your bank will be. Obviously, if you are not converting bitcoins into dollars then there is no tax liability.

[Astro]

I will report the bitcoin sales as a capital gain on my tax return, but since I will just use it to offset carried-over capital loss, it won't have a material impact on what I pay.  I have no problem with this.

[error]

You should always render unto Caeser. I look forward to the auctions where the US Gov't sells off the seized mining rigs of those who insist on tax evasion. Picking up mining hardware at pennies on the dollar and knowing that the previous owner is in an 8x10 cell is such a sweet double victory.

You, sir, are despicable.

[justusranvier]

I always recommend a good dose of Stephan Molyneux for people still suffering from delusions regarding government and religion.

As far as the subject of the thread goes: yes, you should always pay whatever taxes are required exactly for the same reason that you hand over your wallet to a mugger who's got a gun pointed at your head. Getting yourself thrown in jail does not increase your personal freedom or anyone else's.

[Lynzoi]

yea, I'll pay taxes.

The free healthcare that I get in this country has saved my life on several occasions... if it was like the American system then my parents would have lost their house long ago.

In this country being poor isn't a life-threatening condition, and this makes a massive difference to the quality of life here.

My education was free - instead of being sold into indentured servitude in the guise of a student loan, I was paid a grant to go to university.

I'm happy to contribute to the welfare of the nation so young people can have the same freedom I had.

I live in the US, and unfortunately funneling more money into my system will not transform it into a socialist utopia. If handing the government more money would magically turn it into Denmark or something, I would definitely consider doing it, but it's more likely that my money is just going to transform into bombs and stupid road projects. In my country there are many government funded programs that actually make people poorer, such as farm subsidies that ensure that people from countries like Mexico have absolutely no chance of competing with the United States, and an expensive boarder patrol and fence that ensures that people from countries like Mexico have a very good chance of getting murdered rather than relocating to a place with a decent economy.

I feel like government funded programs have personally gotten in the way of my life in many ways, in the form of atrocious public school systems, expensive wars, and all of the stuff I complained about in the last paragraph.

I realize the government pays for some things that are good. Clean water, and uh... NPR, I guess. Yeah, and space ships. I don't exactly feel guilty about having some desire to avoid taxes, however.

[Ricochet]

Once I finally sell off a considerable amount, I will research how that would properly be taxed and pay it.  It'll suck yeah, but I'd rather not have the IRS coming after me.

[billyjoeallen]

I always recommend a good dose of Stephan Molyneux for people still suffering from delusions regarding government and religion.

What is Big Culty Forehead's position on Bitcoin?

[Ohicancitnow]

Why pay taxes to a country that uses it to murder ppl around the globe under the guise of protecting your freedoms?

[error]

I always recommend a good dose of Stephan Molyneux for people still suffering from delusions regarding government and religion.

What is Big Culty Forehead's position on Bitcoin?

I have no idea, but I could ask when I see him in a couple of weeks.

Why pay taxes to a country that uses it to murder ppl around the globe under the guise of protecting your freedoms?

Exactly. Paying the murderers is tantamount to pulling the trigger.

[Astro]

Why pay taxes to a country that uses it to murder ppl around the globe under the guise of protecting your freedoms?

I specifically wrote on the back of my tax return last year, "plz no murdering, k thx!"

It's all good now.

[Lynzoi]

Why pay taxes to a country that uses it to murder ppl around the globe under the guise of protecting your freedoms?

I specifically wrote on the back of my tax return last year, "plz no murdering, k thx!"

It's all good now.

Thanks, you're a true hero.

[xf2_org]

I'm sure some US banks are already reporting repeated ACH deposits from Dwolla into customers' bank accounts as Suspicious Activity Reports. Technically SARs only need to be filed for transactions over $5K and I believe that withdrawals from Mt. Gox are typically smaller than that. However, I have heard of at least one bank filing SARs for smaller amounts that occur repeatedly, just to cover their asses.

Not just to cover their asses.  It is definitely the responsibility of a bank or MSB to report smaller transactions that appear to be evading the various limits ($5k, $10k, whatever).

[Bazil]

If the State provided anything worth buying, they wouldn't have to force us to pay for it.

I pay taxes for the same reason I would hand over my wallet to an armed mugger.

Right on, I'm going to post that on my blog tomorrow if you don't mind.

[Lupus_Yonderboy]

Actually what is despicable are the parasites that live in a society, enjoy all of its benefits, yet refuse to contribute anything back to that society to keep those benefits going. The penalty for tax evasion should not be imprisonment, at a minimum it should be deportation. Don't want to pay the taxes that keep the roads paved, the water clean, the air breatheable? Fine. Go live somewhere else and quit sucking up the valuable resources that you feel are yours by some sort of divine right. Other people that are of far more use to society as a whole can use those resources and actually do something worthwhile.

[error]

Actually what is despicable are the parasites that live in a society, enjoy all of its benefits, yet refuse to contribute anything back to that society to keep those benefits going. The penalty for tax evasion should not be imprisonment, at a minimum it should be deportation. Don't want to pay the taxes that keep the roads paved, the water clean, the air breatheable? Fine. Go live somewhere else and quit sucking up the valuable resources that you feel are yours by some sort of divine right. Other people that are of far more use to society as a whole can use those resources and actually do something worthwhile.

I have no problem paying for valuable services that I desire. I have a problem with being forced to pay for them (and many other undesirable things, like mass murder) at gunpoint. I find it very frightening that you don't see a problem with this.

[enmaku]

Actually what is despicable are the parasites that live in a society, enjoy all of its benefits, yet refuse to contribute anything back to that society to keep those benefits going. The penalty for tax evasion should not be imprisonment, at a minimum it should be deportation. Don't want to pay the taxes that keep the roads paved, the water clean, the air breatheable? Fine. Go live somewhere else and quit sucking up the valuable resources that you feel are yours by some sort of divine right. Other people that are of far more use to society as a whole can use those resources and actually do something worthwhile.

I believe Richard Dawkins actually addressed this in "The Selfish Gene" way back in the '70s. Basically said that altruism is against our biology, it's something we do societally *despite* our biology, not because of it and that the problem with the welfare state is that we are biologically programmed to be selfish. Most of us will likely overcome that evolutionary programming but even if a small few remain selfish and manipulative they will misuse the altruism of others to such an extent as to essentially destroy it.