[staticman2]

This wouldn't be possible unless we had government surveillance of everyone. If I sell junk in my house for a profit there is no IRS record nor is there a government record for selling Bitcoin for cash or a million other possible transactions.

The IRS could make things easier to fill out but they can't just send you a bill.

[dqv]

What do you mean? It's already possible in countries that use the push-tax-bill system. If you're a small business, you self-report. It will be literally the same situation for any small business under a push or pull system - they either choose to self-report or not self-report. No government surveillance required.

The whole point of the push system is to make it easier for anyone who has a simple tax setup. That is, they work for an employer who is continuously reporting on pay checks to the IRS and state revenue departments.

[dragonwriter]

> If I sell junk in my house for a profit there is no IRS record nor is there a government record for selling Bitcoin for cash or a million other possible transactions.

Yes, but most people do very few of the possible transactions that don't create records, at least so as to incur income tax liability. Requiring supplemental filing only where actually necessary would vastly reduce the burden on most taxpayers, and sending a baseline bill with notice of the need and conditions for supplemental filing would be a viable alternative to the current system.

[forbiddenvoid]

> This wouldn't be possible unless we had government surveillance of everyone.

What do you think W-2s and 1099s are?

[S5yDyAk3XoQH5]

Selling stuff on craigslist, sure. but they're already all over bitcoin if you buy/sell it with your bank/cc info. They even have several contractors trying to break the monero rings.

[Dayshine]

The easy solution that the UK takes is to have £1000 of untaxed casual income. If you sell things at home for profit and make less than £1000 a year (which is most people), then you don't have to do anything.