
Virtual currencies can be exchanged tax-free in Europe after court ruling - eduardoveiga
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/22/bitcoin-now-tax-free-in-europe-after-court-ruling.html
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jcwilde
This is a horrible headline and directly promotes misunderstanding. One might
even call it clickbait.

In reality, virtual currencies can now be exchanged tax-free, effectively
putting them in-line with other currencies—no special status has been afforded
specifically to Bitcoin that makes it some kind of tax shelter or similar.
Capital gains and taxes while spending Bitcoins or real goods and services
still apply as with any currency.

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acaloiar
Agreed on the headline, but more to the point is that now the EU does not draw
a distinction between virtual and traditional currencies. Or this is at least
a step in that direction.

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joeyspn
> the EU does not draw a distinction between virtual and traditional
> currencies.

This should be the headline...

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jordigh
I don't like this nomenclature. Can we call them "state-sponsored" and
"stateless" instead? Almost all of the world's currency is as virtual as
email.

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euccastro
Maybe "bank-issued" currency is more accurate for the more traditional kind?

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ThomPete
Can we change the headline to "sales tax-free" instead of tax-free which
indicates something rather different.

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scotty79
Europe has no sales tax. Just VAT.

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bdcs
Yes, Europe has no conventional sales tax, but VAT is a tax on sales, to be
sure.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_tax](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_tax)

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biomcgary
Does this mean that Bitcoin has a different tax status in the EU vs the US? If
so, does this suggest future bitcoin growth will be favored in one or the
other?

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modeless
No, this ruling is in line with how the US does it. Before, it was unclear
whether the EU would charge sales tax (VAT) when you buy bitcoins on an
exchange. Now it's clear that they won't. The US has never charged sales tax
on bitcoin exchanges.

Tax-free is an exaggeration, as bitcoin is still subject to capital gains tax,
and of course you'll have to pay sales tax/VAT if you use bitcoin to buy
things, just as if you bought the same things with euros or dollars.

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smtddr
Wait... then, what __IS__ tax-free about it?

If I still have to pay capital gains tax and sales tax on it, then what's
different about taxes in regards to bitcoin vs. government currency?

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stanleydrew
You don't "have to pay sales tax on it" when you buy BTC like you pay sales
tax when you buy a banana. But you still have to pay sales tax when you
purchase a banana with BTC.

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Daviey
Except Bananas are zero VAT rated, meaning no VAT is paid on them either. :)

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stanleydrew
Heh, should have checked before I made the assumption.

