I don't know how they'd prove you met someone specifically to avoid taxes. I mean, prior to coinbase there weren't any good/easy ways to get bitcoin... it all seemed a little bit sketchy on the surface -- you were either buying it from someone in person or using the red phone in the back of CVS.
Coinbase was a godsend when it came along. No more explaining to my wife why I was going to the sketchy part of town because that CVS has a red phone... finally a legit company that I can buy from! But, even with coinbase and gemini and any other legit exchanges, you may still want to buy bitcoin from someone in person if you've hit your weekly maximum on the exchange.
I know some local computer repair people who buy lots of bitcoin to pay off their client's cryptolocker incidents. They easily hit their weekly limits for business purposes.
> I don't know how they'd prove you met someone specifically to avoid taxes
I'm not saying using these services per se is necessarily enough to warrant arrest. But if you're (a) not reporting taxable holdings or income, (b) using these services after alternatives are available and (c) running your mouth on forums about cashing in your Bitcoins while on vacation in Europe, you're in the easy pile.
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. This is not legal nor tax advice. Pay your taxes.
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. This is not legal nor tax advice. Pay your taxes.
Your advice has been useful to read so far, but are you seriously concerned a username on here will hold you to account if the advice goes awry? It has a nervous/pedantic air (no offense intended, just the impression as a reader when seeing repeated footers).
> It has a nervous/pedantic air (no offense intended
No offense taken :). Most prominently, I do it as a courtesy. A lawyer's comments on these matters should carry more weight than my own. Second to that, one might characterize me as nervous and pedantic about such things.
Coinbase was a godsend when it came along. No more explaining to my wife why I was going to the sketchy part of town because that CVS has a red phone... finally a legit company that I can buy from! But, even with coinbase and gemini and any other legit exchanges, you may still want to buy bitcoin from someone in person if you've hit your weekly maximum on the exchange.
I know some local computer repair people who buy lots of bitcoin to pay off their client's cryptolocker incidents. They easily hit their weekly limits for business purposes.