This is the same argument they have with civilian surveillance... " We want ALL the information, and then WE will decide who we will target. "
So no matter if they suspect that you are a terrorist or in this case a tax evader, they will put everyone on the same level. I was under the
impression Coinbase was working with the government in any way, so this might just be smoke & mirrors to create the impression that they
not working for them.
Pretty much it's about being under the radar at this point as far as not declaring your sells when you move money back into usd accounts. I think what they are trying to do is pin down the people moving large amounts, get the proof of transactions and then collect back taxes + fines.
Consider this a bit of a scare tactic to get more people to be more honest in the current honor system of paying capital gains on btc. Really there is nothing to worry about, unless you move 100K a year and don't report it at all. I doubt they will ever require exchanges to report ALL sell and buys being the paper work will be far too costly for it to be worth it but they COULD require reports to the irs on accounts making trades over a certain limit.