From: jdd@aiki.demon.co.uk (Jim Dixon)
Date: Wed, 10 Aug 94 07:10:26 PDT
To: hughes@ah.com
Subject: Re: e$
Message-ID: <4866@aiki.demon.co.uk>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


In message <9408091606.AA22481@ah.com> Eric Hughes writes:
>    There is a small point to be made here which I think is really a big
>    point.  The US government does not object to the use of financial
>    instruments so long as they are backed by the US $ (or another
>    accepted currency).  
> 
> No, this isn't so.  They also object to barter schemes that are backed
> by dollars.  The object to them not by making them illegal _per se_,
> but by making it illegal not to report all the transactions that occur
> inside them.

It may not be so, but this example is not relevant.  A barter scheme is
not a financial instrument or an exchange of financial instruments.  If
you agree to exchange a refrigerator for ten hours with your favorite
shrink, no financial instruments change hands.	But the IRS sees that
your shrink is making "money" and not reporting it.

>    You also need to be concerned about Federal regulations
>    covering the import and export of money.  I think that at $5,000 or
>    $10,000 you have to report the transaction.  
> 
> This applies to cash and some cash-like instruments, not to "money".
> Originally it was just cash; it has been extended to other
> instruments, but not to all of them, insofar as I know.

When you fly into the US, you must fill out a customs declaration.
You are required to declare money in various forms (cash, checks,
etc) and then to sign a statement saying that your declaration is
true.  I believe that you must declare anything over a relatively
small amount, a few thousand dollars.

Banks are required to declare cash deposits and international movements
of funds over either $5K or $10K, I forget which.  The objective is
to make money laundering difficult.
--
Jim Dixon