Just wondering, if we revert to gold, if we barter gold for items, is it taxable?

To stay out of debt, I don't finance the cars I buy. I pay cash, plus the 9.75% sales tax in my area. How stupid is that if gold can be legally traded for cars without tax?

Well, even if we declared the transaction to the IRS, how are they going to tax it?

Are they only able to tax united states dollars? What if we started doing transactions in another currency? Or in gallons of alcohol, or something like that.

Ok, here's one. Say some guy has some apples and I want them. I don't want to pay, I'd like to barter. So I Chuck Norris him in the face and take his apples.

Do the Feds take 20% of my awesome facepunch from him? Do I get sued?

coincidentally, i too had some apples, and lo the IRS wanted to take my apples from me for they were a gain!

even more coincidenttally, i mailed a picture of chuck norris crouched and ready to attack into the IRS, and have not heard a peep since.

taxes are on gains as posted, it doesnt matter the form of those gains. cash, assets, worth, etc;

in order to be LEGAL yes you must declare ALL sales (as i understand it) and the value of the gain is figured via assesment if in trade.

After some searching of the IRS site and a few others, barter exchanges may result in income (profit) for one party or both, and both parties must file form 1099-B to show market value of the items exchanged.

Trading items of equal value have no tax liability in itself. It's any increase in value at the point the items are traded that the IRS wants a cut of.

Although the exchange may include items of equal value (car is worth $10K, 10oz gold is worth $10K), the dealer may have bought the car for $4K, and the gov wants their share of the $6K profit.

If it's apples, that bag of seed cost you $1. Now you have $1,050 worth of apples and you trade it, the IRS wants their 30-40% since you realized the income by trading it for an oz of Gold. If I paid cash for that Gold, and the value went up 2x, the gov wants their taste of the increased value.

Interesting, if dollars were based on Gold, inflation would not generate as much tax. Deflating the dollar must generate a huge amount of tax.

[edit on 11-10-2009 by Dbriefed]

Keep it all off the books and out of the banks and nobody will be wiser. Illegal aliens do it all the time and the IRS does not bother them. I would love to be able to go 100 percent barter and never pay or accept cash for anything.