Bitcoin 80 million landfill
When I asked them for a copy of the return, they provided a page behemoth that was generated in TurboTax. As it turns out, they followed the directions in the program and while they technically prepared their return properly, their noncash charitable contributions were listed out on Form with each shirt, pair of pants, and toy taking up a separate line. My new clients don't need me to prepare their returns over TurboTax, but I sell peace of mind that software can't provide.
I also offer pretty good tax advice too. With the confusion over the changes under the TCJA, my clients will stay and refer their friends. Diane Fuller Contributing Editor. It was in , and James Howells from Great Britain claims that he owned 7, bitcoins that year, which were stored on his hard drive but eventually ended up in a landfill.
Howells had been a bitcoin miner since , and when he stopped mining, he reportedly broke down his computer into parts, selling them on eBay. He kept the hard drive in a drawer, however, because it contained his bitcoin private keys, and if bitcoin ever did become really valuable, the hard drive would have a record of his ledger. Now he wants to dig up the landfill and find his buried treasure. The trouble is, digging up a landfill is an expensive undertaking that Howells acknowledges will create environmental issues including dangerous gasses and possible landfill fires.
Bring on the hazmat suits! Apparently, Howells isn't the only one to "lose" his investment. The editor of Gizmodo Australia, Campbell Simpson, claims that he too threw away a hard drive in containing 1, bitcoins. Austin Lewis Managing Editor. If you live in Orange County, your tax dollars are for the birds The program may seem like a waste at first, but according to the Orange County Register it's actually been a flyaway success.
In , the county's landfills averaged seagull sightings each day, and three years later the sightings were down to two per day. The Board of Supervisors then decided to suspend the falconry contract to see if the birds would return. They did, so last summer they approved the program for another year.
The falconry businesses are spreading their wings across California, where 51 licenses have been given to operators in the last few years, including 23 in alone. For those people who do not understand IT terms, Bitcoin may be a little hard to comprehend. Bitcoin is a digital currency. Therefore, there are fewer fees. In May , he wrote on a Bitcoin Forum, that he would like to offer 10, bitcoins to pay for 2 pizza.
It became a hobby for him. However, one day, his girlfriend at the time got fed up with it. Since the beginning of his search, he had mined 7, bitcoins. The key to access the coins was stored on his hard drive. Broke His Computer One day Howells accidentally spilled lemonade on his computer. However, I kept the hard drive in a drawer at home knowing it contained my Bitcoin private keys so that if Bitcoin did become valuable one day I would still have the coins I had mined.
He had a feeling one day Bitcoin would explode. He left the hard drive in his drawer for 3 years. It was a safe place for his stored information, which included the Bitcoins.
However, 3 years is a long time, and things can easily be forgotten. Life went on for Howells. As he had other matters to deal with, the hard drive remained in the drawer collecting dust. Like many people do after collecting years of stuff, he decided it was time to get rid of some old equipment.
Up until , the price of one Bitcoin remained relatively low. However, that all changed in and by the end of the year, Bitcoin saw a surge in worth. However, the craze had caught on, and the price was only going to continue to rise.
He realized his 7, Bitcoins, which were now worth a substantial fortune, were now in the trash and gone from his possession. Frantically, Searches For a Possible Backup With the discovery of his possible lost fortune, Howells did whatever he could in hopes of finding his coin.
He believed he may have backed up his hard drive on random files. Sadly, that search ended quickly as he found nothing. So he made his way to the only next possible option he could think of — the landfill. Unfortunately, when he arrived, any hope he had left quickly vanished. He recounted his arrival to BBC. The manager further explained that it is possible to search for things in the landfill. However, a team of upwards of 20 people with full-protective gear normally work on the dig.
He did not have the money in order to fund such an undertaking. It was back to the drawing board. How could Howells finance a dig in search of his lost fortune?