In the US, if I were to trade commodities for labor would I pay tax? For example I pay John in beef to remodel my kitchen
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Yes you would! You’re not the first person to think about getting around taxes like this, the IRS accounts for it, called “bartering”. You pay taxes on the fair market value of the goods. You treat it (basically) the same as if it was cash. If you did plumbing for someone and they decided to pay you in a car instead of cash, you have to report the fair market value of that car on your taxes, and be taxed on it as if it was cash.
You can imagine though, that plenty of people exchange goods instead of cash and of course, may never report such a transaction even though you are supposed to.
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