After a recent audit, BitPay is reporting ~
$1Mil/day in transaction via their payment gateway.
http://www.coindesk.com/bitpay-now-processing-1-million-bitcoin-payments-every-day/@ that rate, it's ~
$350Mil/yearIt's only tiny for the moment, but most of us Bitcoin investors believe High Street merchant adoption is likely to increasing over the next 3 years.
I am currently running BTC business in the UK. For the sale of goods and services 20%VAT must be accounted for.
Although no VAT is owed for the transfer of BTC itself. Working with accountants at the moment, most agree ~32% (20% Income Tax, 12% National Insurance Tax) of my profit margin should be accounted for annual Tax liability. This is the case operating as a sole trader.
We may change to incorporation as a Ltd company, reducing our annual Tax liability to ~23% if turnover justifies.
I think the largest challenge for BTC businesses within the UK currently is finding a banking partner.Barclays and HSBC are definate "no-goes" at the moment. Smile, Co-operative, Citi Group and Lloyds Bank are the only one's playing the field, and it depends on what your business model is.