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Check edit and buy food from vendors that accept btc directly, those that use payment processors are supporting a competing economy
I have some mixed feelings about these points. I understand the point that you are making and I agree that if you know that the business is holding BTC, then they would be the preferred business to patronize.
However, I tend to believe that anyone taking BTC is a good thing, and surely, we should also be sympathetic to the businesses using payment processors (and really we do NOT have any meaningful way to verify the extent to which the payment processor businesses are directly converting or holding some percentage). We should, if we can, be inclined to replace any BTC that we spend, anyhow.
Another ongoing issue remains the tax treatments to use BTC as a form of currency... which is bullshit to have this accounting disincentive hanging over our heads.... Currently, I am trying to get around this (put this off) by simultaneously (within a week or so) replacing any BTC that I spend, and that way I can claim that there was NO capital gains or loss (makes for easier accounting for me, so far). Now, down the road, if I begin to make some substantial purchases that also include capital gains, then I will NEED to account for such gains in my projected IRS filings for the year.
Maybe consider residence in Germany if you're likely to be badly stung with that one, they stated funds from addresses that haven't moved for more than a year are tax-free. No idea how long that will last, they had the same opening on precious metals but changed it fairly recently.
+1 on the more accepting btc the better and accepting via a payment processor is far better than not accepting, the spending drive gets to me is all, "spend, spend, spend" sounds a lot like the "waste, waste, waste" of perpetual "growth".
I have some business issues in the US of A that I am trying to get in order - otherwise I am considering various ways to become location independent. Currently, I am attracted to south east asia, more than europe - and part of my thinking is that I can live a lot better on a lot less (accordingly, live well within my means, and continue to accumulate wealth with a mostly passive income). Potentially, later in life, I will be able to travel and live in more expensive areas...... Well, anyhow, this is more of a work of progress than anything set in stone...
Further, I am anticipating that there are going to be a lot of ongoing wishy-washy developments and adjustments when it comes to various tax treatments of BTC... from what I understand, Americans traveling abroad would NOT be required to count the gains of their spent BTC, so long as those BTC are spent overseas.
Regarding number of merchants, the more the better, and regarding spending, there are a lot of mixed blessings about that, and the USA, as most of us already realize, has one of the worst spending records - and some of the american consumerism habits are spreading to other areas around the world... NO simple solutions there when it comes to inequality and wasteful spending while some people are barely able to scratch by meager livings others are living wastefully high on the hog. Seems to be a topic beyond the scope of this thread (though this thread seems to be fairly tolerant of a variety of topics so long as they are anywhere remotely connected to BTC walls - and even then... ooofffffta...).
