Coinbase Customers Could Be Affected By IRS Tax Summons

Many people get into the crypto currency market to avoid the heavy and stifling taxation levied on any income in every country across the globe. But now, the IRS is desperately trying to hit almost 14,000 Coinbase customers with a tax summons.

Digital currency exchange startup Coinbase is pushing back against a renewed court effort by the Internal Revenue Service to obtain information on some of its customers. Earlier this month, the IRS sought to narrow the scope of its investigation of the startup’s customers after running into opposition from both Coinbase itself as well as several of its customers.

This dispute, however, dates back to November, when the tax agency first went to court in a bid to obtain user records from Coinbase for the period between 2013 and 2015, with the overt and obvious goal of taxing customers for their trading of and/or income from crypto currency. Ultimately, the IRS told the court that it would limit its investigation to customers who have conducted at least $20,000 in business during those years.

But Coinbase claims that the IRS is still pulling the wool over eyes. Coinbase goes on to say that, under the narrowed summons, approximately 14,355 accounts would be subject to the data request, and most likely, ultimately, a tax summons. The start-up requested that the court reject the tax agency’s petition to enforce the summons. Further, Coinbase is seeking an evidentiary hearing, criticizing the IRS for what it believes is a lack of evidence that its customers are trying to avoid their taxes.

Of course, users of crypto currency try to avoid taxes, yet the wonderful thing about crypto currency is that there is a gigantic hole where evidentiary support should be. That’s why it’s so appealing to the vast majority of those who have any stake in Bitcoin, or other crypto currency for that matter, whatsoever.

“The Government has now ‘narrowed’ its requests, providing no evidence to support its contentions and no explanation for why it has done so,” the startup’s attorneys wrote. But anyone with half a functioning brain knows that the IRS is solely seeking more tax revenue and they are desperately trying to extort or steal as much from as many as possible.

For all court documents regarding this case, click here.

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Contributed by Dawn Luger of The Daily Sheeple.

Dawn Luger is a staff writer and reporter for The Daily Sheeple. Wake the flock up – follow Dawn’s work at our Facebook or Twitter.