Yes, it was difficult a year ago and although its easier now, it's still a ton of work to buy on any of 6 or 7 exchanges and then move the coins to various wallets not on the exchange.

In terms of the taxes, if there is no capital gain, there is no tax. So I'm quite comfortable only using BTC to buy other alt coins. I'm worried however for so many people who are trying to day trade. If they don't have a good record of buy and sells I'm not sure how someone would unwind the tangle when they do their taxes. I have good records and a good tracking Excel file I use. I'm also not trading. I'm buying and holder long term, so that makes it a bit cleaner. And I've done very well so far in the first year with one token up 750X at one point in January!