揭示比特币注定失败的真正原因

    如果谢帕德分析得没错，那么比特币交易者在将比特币兑换成其它商品或美元时应该按照什么方式对他们征税呢？按照他们的角色吗？交易者？投资者抑或是经销商？不过有一件事非常明确，因为比特币交易非常容易被定位，所以征税不可避免。

    如果你是比特币短线交易的参与者，需要频繁买进卖出比特币，跟那些把比特币当作日常货币使用的人一样，那么，你的全部所得将按照普通收入课税——税率高达39.6%。

    比特币的一大卖点是，它的数量有限，不能无限增发。这当然有助于比特币用户避免通胀带来的财富缩水。美国一项明确的政策目标即以每年2％的速度使美元稳步贬值，因此，这一年年累积起来可不是个小数目。

    但问题在于，美国国税局会评估你相对于美元从比特币上获得的收益。假如你将自身财富投资于比特币，经常用它进行交易，那么美元通涨越严重，你要缴的税将越高。还有一个问题就是，记录、同时向美国国税局报告个人或公司频繁进行的比特币交易所导致的成本相当高。

    所以，如果你对比特币作为货币的保值能力感兴趣，那就得做好心理准备，向美国联邦政府缴纳高额费用，以享受使用比特币的乐趣。

    比特币内在的一大矛盾在于，它的吸引力主要是因为人们认为它独立于政府之外。但日益清楚的一点是，一种货币要被广泛使用，甚至成为稳定的价值储存手段，它必须得到世界各国政府的认可。而短期来看，政府不大可能放弃对货币体系的控制权。（财富中文网）

    译者：项航

    If Shepard's analysis is accurate, then how bitcoin users would be taxed when they sell their bitcoins for goods or dollars would depend on whether that person is a trader, investor, or dealer. But one thing is for sure, the transaction would be taxed, as bitcoin transactions are easily traceable.

    And if you're a bitcoin user that is buying and selling the currency on a short-term basis, as one would expect from a person using bitcoin like everyday currency, any gains you realize would be taxed as ordinary income -- as high as 39.6%.

    One of the main appeals for bitcoin is the fact that it was designed so that there can only be a finite number of bitcoins created. This, of course, will help those who keep their wealth in bitcoin avoid the hidden tax of inflation. The United States has an explicit policy goal of devaluing its currency at a steady 2% per year, and that adds up to quite a bit over time.

    But here's the rub: The IRS will value the gains you make on bitcoin vis-a-vis the dollar. The more inflation in the dollar, the higher your tax bill will be if you keep your wealth invested in bitcoin and transact often using it. There's also the issue of the high cost of record-keeping and reporting to the IRS an individual or company's frequent bitcoin transactions.

    So, if you're interested in bitcoin as a currency for its ability to maintain value, you're also going to have to plan on paying a high price to the feds for the pleasure of using it.

    The great contradiction inherent in bitcoin is that so much of its appeal comes from its supposed independence from the government, but it's increasingly clear that for the currency to be widespread enough for it to be a stable store of value, it will have to have to receive the blessings of governments across the world. And those governments are unlikely to cede their control over the monetary system anytime soon.