Bitcoin now 'unit of account' in Germany
theguardian.com
Bitcoin now 'unit of account' in Germany
1–10 of 39 posts
Re: Bitcoin now 'unit of account' in Germany
#2that seems weird that germany has to recognize bitcoin as a unit of account to collect taxes on it. surely, if you buy something and then later sell it in the future for a profit you are liable for capital gains on it. surely there is not some massive whitelist of all the goods that attract capital gains tax.
Re: Bitcoin now 'unit of account' in Germany
#3that seems weird that germany has to recognize bitcoin as a unit of account to collect taxes on it. surely, if you buy something and then later sell it in the future for a profit you are liable for capital gains on it. surely there is not some massive whitelist of all the goods that attract capital gains tax.
There are extra taxes for trading with currencies in Germany (and other countries, it seems; google "forex tax"). So without it being recognized as a currency, you still have to pay VAT, but not forex tax.
Re: Bitcoin now 'unit of account' in Germany
#4Germany is acting very logically in response to Bitcoin. Their thinking: "if a growing number of people are using it as a store of value or medium of exchange, or as a vehicle for financial speculation, let's regulate and tax its use."
This bodes well for Bitcoin, because other countries are likely to follow Germany's example.
Re: Bitcoin now 'unit of account' in Germany
#5that seems weird that germany has to recognize bitcoin as a unit of account to collect taxes on it. surely, if you buy something and then later sell it in the future for a profit you are liable for capital gains on it. surely there is not some massive whitelist of all the goods that attract capital gains tax.
There are extra taxes for trading with currencies in Germany (and other countries, it seems; google "forex tax"). So without it being recognized as a currency, you still have to pay VAT, but not forex tax.
VAT is never charged on assets (which Bitcoin is), only goods and services.
Re: Bitcoin now 'unit of account' in Germany
#6that seems weird that germany has to recognize bitcoin as a unit of account to collect taxes on it. surely, if you buy something and then later sell it in the future for a profit you are liable for capital gains on it. surely there is not some massive whitelist of all the goods that attract capital gains tax.
The way I understand it, this allows people/companies to do their accounting at least in parts in Bitcoin and then pay taxes (in Euros, of course) on the resulting revenue, rather than treating Bitcoins as goods that are sold/bought for ‘real’ money.
But I am neither an accountant, nor a lawyer, nor an economist, so the likelihood of my guess being correct is rather slim.
Re: Bitcoin now 'unit of account' in Germany
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
There are extra taxes for trading with currencies in Germany (and other countries, it seems; google "forex tax"). So without it being recognized as a currency, you still have to pay VAT, but not forex tax.
VAT is never charged on assets (which Bitcoin is), only goods and services.
That's the whole point, bitcoin not being treated as a good you trade.
Re: Bitcoin now 'unit of account' in Germany
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
There are extra taxes for trading with currencies in Germany (and other countries, it seems; google "forex tax"). So without it being recognized as a currency, you still have to pay VAT, but not forex tax.
VAT is never charged on assets (which Bitcoin is), only goods and services.
Here in the UK Bitcoins are treated as an electronic service. This means once you're registered for VAT (and you must past ~£70k revenue) you have to charge VAT on sales to:
- Anyone in the UK
- Individuals in the EU
And:
- Reverse charge VAT to business in the EU
Having to charge VAT on Bitcoins is a show stopper if you're intending to sell them unless you close your doors to EU customers.
Bitcoins need to be classed as VAT exempt, or small business in the UK trying to get into Bitcoin will always struggle to grow.
Re: Bitcoin now 'unit of account' in Germany
#9Germany is acting very logically in response to Bitcoin. Their thinking: "if a growing number of people are using it as a store of value or medium of exchange, or as a vehicle for financial speculation, let's regulate and tax its use." This bodes well for Bitcoin, because other countries are likely to follow Germany's example.
at least within the EU anyway.
Re: Bitcoin now 'unit of account' in Germany
#10Bitcoin fulfils easily the definition of "electronic money" found in the European directive 2009/110/EC, art. 2 def. 1:
> 2. "electronic money" means electronically, including magnetically, stored monetary value as represented by a claim on the issuer which is issued on receipt of funds for the purpose of making payment transactions as defined in point 5 of Article 4 of Directive 2007/64/EC, and which is accepted by a natural or legal person other than the electronic money issuer;
Germany is doing nothing strange, all the EU state will have to do similar things in the future. Bitcoin may be a distributed currency without a politically backed central bank, but it is still a currency, so it is treated as such by any competent tax office.