Coming to you from the procedural trenches of the tax compliance industry, today’s post is about the sharing economy – tax war stories.
Most recently I had the privilege of leading a group discussion about the tax implications of this ubiquitous ‘Sharing Economy’ business model we are all currently experiencing with 60 or so members of the National Association of Tax Professionals.
I love my tax nerd friends and our discussion was a real barn burner! After addressing many questions and getting a fair amount of valuable input it is safe to write that we came to 5 general conclusions:
- Much like quantum entanglement, what the sharing economy ‘is’ originates predominately from the observer’s perspective at this point. It can be one thing to you and another to me.
- Much like the grEAt wild west, this relatively untamed voyage involves the collection, organization and digital storage of what was once deemed private information… by LARGE corporations.
- This collection and analysis of our private data causes each of us to be systematically ‘profiled’ which can be both good and evil.
- Our individually compiled profiles in the hands of the wrong people or governments (think Enron or Nixon or Clinton) is a scary proposition, particularly in light of our history.
- Big Brother and lemming references aside, the procedural mechanics required to maintain regulatory compliance has many overt challenges for the average taxpayer and tax professional alike.
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