Underground Economy???

[BigPlay]

how do they put a dollar amount on the door BP installed? there's many many different varients, and qualities.

how do they put a dollar amount on the spark plugs i install in his car? there's at least 1/2 dozen different plugs that can be installed in any car, and they all have different cost. then there's the time for both. labor rates vary greatly. i charge different labor rates for fleets than i do to the average joe. i charge different labor rates to military personnel than i do to others(much lower for military).

 as for the barter thing......it all still comes back to that handshake.

prove i didn;t install that door myself while BP was installing his plugs, using my bay. 

exactly Cap, I have been audited so many times I can't count and only owed money once. I have had my business for 30 years and have come to know alot about how the tax system works. I'm not saying I know everything but enough to avoid making a major mistake. I do know one thing and that is the IRS isn't intrested in small stuff, they don't have  the man power first of all to chase around all the questionable transactions, second many times if they recognize the accountants name that you use they Will avoid even auditing you. I had a CPA that won every case brought up against his clients and when I hired him the audits stopped cold, they got tired of losing. I became friends with him and he was the one who enlightened me one the workings of the IRS. In a nut shell he told me that the bottom of the barrel end up working for the IRS. But you will get the people that really do not have experience with anything more than the short form and continue to highlight the rules. Notice how vague the IRS is about telling you about any legal loop holes. They force people to hire tax attorneys to bring them into the light.

[mensa180]

http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc420.html

[BigPlay]

http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc420.html

read the text  , it says that certain forms of bartering maybe exempt. I believe the section is there for people running businesses that exclusively barter or partially barter as a form of income. I believe the poster of this thread was simply trading a cow for services, not attempting to conduct the trade from a business standpoint.

[RipChord929]

Yep, a square deal, and a handshake, is good enough for most decent and honest ppl..

Ah, never thought about the ammo thing! Maybe I'll have to break out my Lee loadmaster
and start crankin out the .223 and .308 ammo... Got tons of cases, and lots of powder/primers...
And I know where to get bullets in wholesale bulk... Thanks for the idea!!!

When I was actively running my own shop, I always preferred greenbacks over Checks or plastic...
That way the bank is never involved in those transactions, so the cash just dissappears into my safe...
Just love Cash!!!

Not too long ago, an older local guy bought a used Harley.. He rode it for a few months and noticed a rumbling
noise/feeling coming from the transmission, so he brought it to me.. It turns out the previous owner had
just installed a clutch, trying to fix the rumble... It didn't!!!   Pulled the trans out, (easy on a divorced case),
and the input bearings were shot, nylon shoe's on the 1st/2nd shift fork were missing, shift fork grinding on the 1st/2nd slider.. There's the rumble!!!   I ordered up the parts over the internet, rebuilt the trans, reinstalled it.. When he came to pick it up, he was grinnin like a fool, LOL!!  He whipped out his checkbook, after looking over the workorder.. Then I told him that if he paid in cash, I could overlook the tax, and trim a little from the bill.. LOL, he said, "I'll be right back!!!  The bill was about $1,100.00 before tax, so I chopped it to an even 1G..   That made him even happier!!  Made me feel good too!! The workorder went into the shredder, and a handshake sealed the deal.. He's still roarin happily down the road!!!

When I charter for steelhead/salmon fishing, I charge $300 per person per day, $400 if I have to hike in, CASH!!!  That money dissappears as well!!!    Just love those greenbacks!!!

RC

[phatzo]

what about stuff like bartercard and currency alternative would you class them as underground economy?

[Raptor]

If you already participate, how so?  And any Ideas that would further this movement
would be very interesting to hear...
(If you already do, and don't really want to talk about it, I understand!!!)
But give a thumbs up, to show your feelings about it...

My mother is cleaning her accountant's mother's home in exchange for her doing her taxes.