????這幾個星期對于比特幣的擁躉而言注定不大太平：先是全球最大的比特幣交易平臺Mt.Gox突然宣布破產；隨后《新聞周刊》（Newsweek）又爆出，比特幣的發明者是美國加州一位名為中本聰的64歲男子。

????不過，比起比特幣的前景問題，上面這些新聞簡直微不足道。比特幣是否有希望像由政府擔保的法定貨幣那樣得到人們的廣泛接納？比特幣成功的最大障礙一直在于取得政府的支持，然而許多比特幣的擁躉卻將政府視為仇敵。

????中國等國家對比特幣持明確反對態度。去年12月，中國政府發布官方公告，禁止金融機構參與比特幣交易，不過對個人用戶仍然開放。雖然美國政府目前仍然維持不干涉的態度，但財政部（the Treasury Department），尤其還有國稅局（IRS）早就對比特幣虎視眈眈，遲早要插手，而這些大佬的態度會在很大程度上決定比特幣的成敗。

????稅務律師李?謝帕德最近在一篇有關稅收的文章中詳細闡述了自己的觀點：“比特幣不是貨幣。”毫無疑問，他的觀點遭到不少比特幣支持者的反對。謝帕德的觀點如下：

????比特幣的使用者不應該認為自己能免除納稅義務，也不能以為自己可以游離于稅務系統之外。比特幣絕沒有超脫世俗的能力，當前銀行系統的禁區對比特幣一樣適用……自由論者、毒梟和陰謀論者喜歡比特幣，因為它不由中央政府發行。但諷刺的是，比特幣可比美鈔更容易控制，也更容易追蹤。

????謝帕德列舉了美國稅務法院（United States Tax Court）在上世紀70年代對Barter Systems公司逃稅案的判決結果，這家公司當時允許客戶將手中的“硬資產”變賣成自己發行的“交易單元”。當時美國正值高通脹時代，所以對這類交易單元的吸引力也就不難理解。美國稅務法院裁決Barter Systems必須將有關交易單元的所有情況如實上報，同時“按照交易單元所兌換商品的市場公允價格進行納稅”。謝帕德還指出：

????比特幣類似美國威奇托市Barter Systems公司力推的交易單位。后者是一種私下發行的交易媒介，應用場合十分有限，發行者不承擔任何擔保。科爾文法官在分析交易單元的使用情況時把它視為財產。同樣的分析也適用于比特幣。

????It's been a busy couple of weeks for bitcoin enthusiasts, first as they dealt with the volatility brought on by the implosion of the world's largest bitcoin exchange, then as Newsweek fingered a 64-year-old California man named Satoshi Nakamoto as the creator of the virtual currency.

????But compared to the question of whether bitcoin will ever achieve levels of adoption anywhere near the scale of government-backed fiat currencies, these stories are mere trifles. Bitcoin's biggest obstacle to success has always been receiving the blessing of the very governments that many of its supporters view as enemies one through 100.

????Some governments, like China, have taken steps to combat bitcoin's use. In December, Chinese officials banned financial institutions from dealing with bitcoin though individuals are free to own them. The United States has taken a more hands-off approach, but it is inevitable that the Treasury Department, and especially the IRS, will have to take an official stance on the currency, and its position will have huge implications for the success of bitcoin.

????Tax attorney Lee Shepard argues convincingly in a recent article in Tax Notes that "Bitcoin is not a currency," despite the protestations of some supporters. According to Shepard:

????Users of Bitcoin should not think that it is exempt from taxation or outside the tax system. There's nothing that Bitcoin allows anyone to do that they can't already do in the regular banking system ... Libertarians, drug dealers, and tinfoil hatters like Bitcoin because it is not issued by a central government, but the irony is that it is more controllable and more traceable than the U.S. bank notes ...

????Shepard points to a United States Tax Court decision from the 1970s that dealt with a company called Barter Systems, which allowed customers to trade in hard assets in return for "trade units" issued by the firm. This was during a time when inflation was high, which explains the appeal of these trade units. The U.S. tax court ruled that Barter Systems was required to report transactions involving these trade units and that the exchange "should be taxed on the fair market value of property received in exchange for trade units." Continues Shepard:

????Bitcoin is analogous to the trade units considered in Barter Systems Inc. of Wichita. It is a privately issued medium of exchange accepted only in constrained circumstances and not backed by any promise of the issuer. Colvin treated the trade units as property in analyzing their use. The same analysis applies to Bitcoin.