Let no one deter you from flying a wacky sign, as this guy learned over the weekend:
Here's the deal: Yesterday on ESPN's "College GameDay" (an ESPN college football show that's filmed at a different college campus each week) some student held the above sign that has both the Bitcoin logo and a QR code.
The Internet — presumably giddy over the IRL mashup of Bitcoin and SPORTS! — got to work puzzling out the QR code and nearly 23 Bitcoin later, this guy has a bit of a tax issue to figure out. So of course, he turned to /r/accounting:
Hey Accounting! I'll thought I'd ask total strangers from the internet for some unofficial, "I'm not your CPA" , advice. I made a Bitcoin sign with a QR code that linked to a public wallet. The sign made it on live TV during ESPN's College Game Day show. /u/DanielTaylor from Europe used GIMP to decode the sign and post it to /r/Bitcoin. What I thought was highly improbable happened. Random bitcoin enthusiasts have sent 22 bitcoins or $22,000 to the public wallet. What are the tax implications here? I've got advice ranging from Uncle Sam doesn't have to know (bad advice I believe personally) to its personal gifts and not taxable to you will be shoved into a higher tax bracket and you may end up being worse off having done this!
Any one care to chime in? Thanks for reading!
I mean, who needs a qualified tax professional when you have REDDIT amiright?
Note: "Bitcoin Sign Guy" plans to donate at least some of his exceptional gain to a non-profit organization in Florida dedicated to feeding the homeless.
I smell a completely untapped market for a Certified Global Bitcoin Management Accountant credential here, folks.
