California Looking To Make All Bitcoin Businesses Illegal

An anonymous reader writes A new law has been proposed in California that would effectively outlaw all Bitcoin-related businesses that don't first get "permission." The details are vague within the bill itself, which is part of what makes it dangerous. If you're doing anything with virtual currency, you may have to go line up in Sacramento to get permission first.

Comments

The peoples republic of...

[Anonymous Coward]

"Papers Comrade!"

Enjoy. You made it that way.

"line up in sacramento first"

[roc97007]

Alternately, don't do business in California.

yeah, California is falling apart

[NostalgiaForInfinity]

If you look at the state, it's deeply in debt and politically utterly dysfunctional. Educational performance has fallen to nearly the bottom of the nation. The infrastructure is falling apart. Taxes are sky-high. The prisons are overcrowded and an embarrassment to the nation. Everything is regulated, from putting a shed in your backyard to how the hens are kept that produce your eggs. People and businesses are moving out of the state if they can.

California weather and scenery will mean that it will always remain a playground for retirees and the wealthy. And its widespread crony capitalism will keep some corporations around. But anybody with half a brain, and anybody who actually wants to innovate and accomplish something will move elsewhere.

Re:yeah, California is falling apart

[Anonymous Coward]

Funny, Wells Fargo's California Economic Outlook report for last month starts off "California’s economy continues to power forward, with many of the Golden State’s largest and most important industries gaining momentum over the course of 2014."

https://www08.wellsfargomedia.com/downloads/pdf/com/insights/economics/regional-reports/California_Economic_Outlook_02242015.pdf

Re:yeah, California is falling apart

[Creepy]

Except due to loopholes, corporations pay far less. And I quote from Citizens For Tax Justice (and I've seen far less flattering numbers, like most companies pay 5% or less, but they probably included unprofitable ones that don't pay any taxes - this study only included profitable companies).

While the federal corporate tax law ostensibly requires big corporations to pay a 35 percent corporate
income tax rate, the 288 corporations in our study on average paid barely more than half that amount:
19.4 percent over the 2008-12 period. Many companies paid far less, including 26 that paid nothing at all
over the entire five-year period. "

Re:yeah, California is falling apart

[Anonymous Coward]

> Taxes are sky-high.

Total sales tax in San Francisco, CA is 8.5%.
Total sales tax in Huntsville, AL (a seat of DoD power and not much else) is 9%.

People who make less than ~$150k/year pay significantly less in state income tax in CA than they do in AL.

And, funnily enough, CA is a *substantially* better place to live than AL.

Facts. They get in the way of a good rant. :P

Re:As stupid as bitcoin is

[Sowelu]

As is the idea of tech blogs, which are perennially stupid when it comes to actually understanding the legal system, posting articles without understanding the subject matter. If you read the text it mainly says "if you're going to act like a bank, we're going to regulate you like a bank, even if you claim cryptocurrency makes you immune because it isn't real". I don't see how it seems unreasonable. Given bitcoin exchanges' track records it seems like a downright good idea, and it might help shake off the terrible reputation that bitcoin has outside of crazy people.

FALSE HEADLINE

[Anonymous Coward]

From the text of the bill:

26004. The following are exempt from the licensing requirement described in Section 26002:
(6) A merchant or consumer that utilizes virtual currency solely for the purchase or sale of goods or services.

This bill has nothing to do with people who wish to buy or sell goods or services in bitcoins. It is intended to regulate bitcoin exchanges, presumably to avoid another Mt Gox scenario. The bill is still in its very, very early stages, and so I'm sure there are problems with the verbiage. But the headline and summary are absolute bullshit, intended to drive readers into an anti-government rage, and thus generate clicks.

Baning interstate commerce?

[Billly Gates]

Last I checked that was unconstitutional. Feds make these rules and laws

Re:Is it sad that it is old hat

[vux984]

In many of THOSE cases its government functioning as it should -- representing the will of the people in the community.

Lots of communities CITIZENS don't want strip clubs or pawn shops or porn shops or Walmarts or whatever; but they aren't illegal and the community can't outlaw them outright.. so the local government's mazes of red-tape to make opening such a business in the community difficult are simply a reflection of what the community wants implemented with the tools they have available to them.

Not always, of course, but often.

On the one hand its annoying if you want to open such a business; on the other hand... why exactly shouldn't a community be able to decide what businesses it does and doesn't want within its borders? It raises all kinds of genuinely interesting questions about the role of local government.

Re:Is it sad that it is old hat

[The Rizz]

Lots of communities CITIZENS don't want strip clubs or pawn shops or porn shops or Walmarts or whatever; but they aren't illegal and the community can't outlaw them outright.. so the local government's mazes of red-tape to make opening such a business in the community difficult are simply a reflection of what the community wants implemented with the tools they have available to them.

This is pure and complete bullshit. If the community's citizens didn't want such a business there, the business would get no customers and close down naturally. What actually is happening is that a cabal of Bible-thumping prudes who wish to impose their sense of morality upon others forces these laws through in order to control the larger population.