In the aftermath of the revelation of PRISM, the NSA spying program that collects user data from nine major U.S. tech companies, many have highlighted alternate options from organizations that are not known to be cooperating with government surveillance efforts.
Among those alternatives, Bitcoin has been pegged as a more private payment option. At Prism-Break.org, which lists alternatives to all the services that fall under the PRISM umbrella, Bitcoin is the only listed alternative to online payment services, such as PayPal and Google Wallet.
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The U.S. Government Accountability Office’s new report on the tax implications of virtual currencies is definitely the GAO’s most cyberpunk moment to date. The report name-checks “World of Warcraft,” “Second Life” and, of course, Bitcoin. Yes, that’s right, the U.S. government is pondering how the IRS should deal with MMORGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing games).
Don’t worry — if you’ve got piles of gold accumulating in your “WoW” account, you don’t need to declare it. Although, if you find a way to sell that gold to some other party in exchange for legal tender, that’s a different story. That’s income, and it’s probably taxable.
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