Original scientific paper
Taxing Bitcoin
Nevia Čičin-Šain
; Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Bitcoin is a virtual currency, created and stored electronically. Bitcoin is nor printed nor is it controlled by a single person or institution. Bitcoins are produced by a pool of people using computer software that solves mathematical problems. Bitcoin can be purchased in almost the same way as any other traditional currency: in exchange offices (those that have accepted bitcoin) or directly from people who sell it.
The advent of bitcoin and other similar cryptocurrencies has raised a number of tax related questions in various countries. Interestingly enough, different countries have come to rather different conclusions in trying to determine its nature. For instance, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service concluded that bitcoin is a commodity and that it should therefore be taxed as a capital asset, whereas Singapore subjects bitcoin transactions to a double taxation because it considers it to be a service.
In the European Union, the Court of Justice of the European Union, in Hedqvist (C-264/14), came to a completely different solution, finding bitcoin to be a type of currency that can profit from VAT exemption.
The scientific problem posed here is the following: what is the appropriate way to tax bitcoin transactions with indirect and direct taxes in the Republic of Croatia? The aim of this article is to propose a national model of indirect and direct taxation of bitcoins. The main hypothesis is that the current system is sufficiently flexible to accommodate the taxation of bitcoin. The method chosen to test the hypothesis was a comparative analysis of selected legislations, as well as the judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Hedqvist (C-264/14). The main conclusion is that there is no need to amend the Croatian tax system in order to accommodate the taxation of bitcoin, meaning that the initial hypothesis is confirmed. The issue of taxing bitcoin with indirect taxes has been resolved on the level of the EU by the aforementioned judgement, whilst the issue of direct taxation regarding bitcoin transactions has been left to the Member States, since these taxes are not in the exclusive competence of the EU. The issue of direct taxation needs to be considered depending on the circumstances in which the transactions take place. In this context, the author offers her own view of the system of taxing profits made from bitcoin under the tax rules currently in force in the Republic of Croatia.
Keywords
bitcoin; taxes; virtual currencies; Hedqvist case; VAT; direct taxes
Hrčak ID:
186941
URI
Publication date:
15.9.2017.
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