First off, different countries have different laws - so my answer is: it depends on the tax laws in your country.
That said, I live in the USA. And, anyone who thinks they are going to escape paying taxes on any large crypto earnings is probably kidding themselves. Everything that happens online is completely recorded by the NSA.
Here is the real question: is it worth the governments' time to track you down and come after the capital gains taxes on your crypto earnings?
To even be considered for an audit, you'd have to make at least $5,000 - $10,000 profit from your crypto holdings, unless you are "unlucky" and the IRS decides to make an example of you.
Remember: your digital tokens are not taxable until you redeem them for U.S. dollars. If you leave them in a wallet or exchange somewhere, they are simply considered so much "digital air." Upon conversion to FIAT, taxes matter.
For that reason, I use only one bank account to send and receive all of my FIAT currency - which makes it incredibly easy to determine exactly how much profit/loss I can claim for the years' tax filing. This also makes it easy for the government to do an audit on my assets - which is how I want it to be. I have no illusions about trying to "hide" my money from the government. Don't do it. Crime doesn't pay.
That said, I typically take my crypto profits and transfer them into physical silver and gold investments. In this way, no FIAT/USD is involved in my transactions, I have not "cashed out" in any way which requires me to report capital gains earnings, and I'm simply delaying paying taxes on my investments until I do finally convert my precious metals into another asset, such as real estate. At that point in time, I'm going to have to pay about a 20% capital gains tax. If I happen to move to a different country and take my sivler and gold elsewhere, I will have to deal with whatever taxes and fees apply to my new jurisdiction.
The fact of the matter is this: there's always going to be somebody above me in the "pecking order" who's laws I have to follow. People who try to escape following the laws are placing themselves at risk of being categorized as "criminal." And, governments are "criminal" for placing these chains on us - but that's life. Death and Taxes.
This is not correct. Any crypto-to-crypto exchange is a taxable event under US law.
Additionally, mining results and airdrop (which STEEM would qualify for) are taxed as ordinary income at the US dollar value upon receipt. So when you claim your post rewards of 3 SBD + 1 SP, that's taxable income at the USD value of those quantities on that date.
Excellent question @bi5h0p. It crossed my mind too several times.
That would mean that you can purchase services, products and sometimes pay for hotels with crypto and this way you can use your resources without paying taxes.
I wonder how to approach this issue. Goverments and tax officers will have a very hard task.
Yours,
Piotr