posted on Oct, 11 2009 @ 02:16 AM
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]