It doesn't matter how "real" you think it is if the government insists on taxing you like it's real. In fact, that's part of the problem.
Huh, maybe that’s what I was implying with my comment. Thanks for spelling it out.
They’re real enough for the IRS to want their cut when you vest stocks or exercise options that you can’t sell.
I’d like to see if the IRS would accept the startup’s private shares as payment. It’s funny to me because there isn’t an open market to liquidate them... yet they are taxed like they are cash.