One thing I've observed many times over the years is that the government likes to have its cake and eat it too. For instance, they ruled that gold coins were legal tender. Then one bright employer started paying his employees in gold coins from the US Mint.
If I give you 12 $50 gold coins that are legal tender, I've paid you $600 dollars, right? Say your salary is one of those a month. What should you claim as your income on your taxes? $600? That's well below the $4k and you don't even have to file.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Gold_Eagle
But the IRS decided that it didn't matter that they were $50 legal tender, and took him to court where the court rules that the "value" of them was what mattered.
So here they are literally claiming it is one way when it's convenient to them and another when that is more convenient.
The laws are written, always, to give maximum power and flexibility to the government and little to none to you.
Expecting consistency out of them would be a mistake.
If I give you 12 $50 gold coins that are legal tender, I've paid you $600 dollars, right? Say your salary is one of those a month. What should you claim as your income on your taxes? $600? That's well below the $4k and you don't even have to file.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Gold_Eagle
But the IRS decided that it didn't matter that they were $50 legal tender, and took him to court where the court rules that the "value" of them was what mattered.
So here they are literally claiming it is one way when it's convenient to them and another when that is more convenient.
The laws are written, always, to give maximum power and flexibility to the government and little to none to you.
Expecting consistency out of them would be a mistake.