Posted by LWM Team on Mon, Feb 08, 2010
Not a dime is floating into your pocket... you’re BUSTED? But the kids need shoes and the wife needs a new refrigerator because the old one quit. WHAT DO YOU DO? An Age Old American Tradition of bartering has kept poor families going for centuries. You’ve got what I need and I’ve got what you need... and ALL ends well in the world of barter trading! America REEKS of auction houses, used good stores, and antique shops that all use the barter system in any way they can! But hold on to your bedroom set and hold the delivery of the couch...the I.R.S. wants APPRAISAL and accountability! If the ‘fair market value’ of your bedroom set is below the value of the couch you’re getting, it doesn’t matter a BIT to the I.R.S. if you and ‘Joe’ agreed to trade ‘even-up!’ You have gained IMAGINARY dollars that you MUST report when filing your taxes! Did you follow that? So you owe TAXES on the difference in value of the two items! LEGALLY, that is. They just think of EVERYTHING to ruin our FUN and life as we know it!
Fat Chance They Will Catch You
The nations trade or DIE, slippery and cunning traders silently say...“Ha, ha...we know the loop-holes on this one,” and it’s NOT LIKELY pro barters will be caught...but should they? If two people decide that they are satisfied to trade items or services that benefit BOTH EQUALLY and no money changes hands, then WHY would the I.R.S care? Well, even with ‘friendlier’ faces they are still the I.R.S. and with THIS economy they suffer HIGH PRESSURE to find even ‘imaginary’ money. Wonder if they have talked to the President about that? Barter on-line exchanges present the most likely place for barterers to be caught. The records are there in black and white. So watch your imaginary dollars or Uncle Sam will have some!
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