Japan: Bitcoin not a currency, ‘but taxable’
The ruling party in Japan, the Liberal Democrats, have formed an investigative committee that will look into Bitcoin from a governmental perspective, the party said in a statement. The committee’s first comments are that Bitcoin transactions should be “subject to taxation,” opening up a possible avenue to establish regulation. The Japanese government also said banks would not have license to broker Bitcoin. "As a matter of common sense, if there are transactions and subsequent gains, it is natural ... for the finance ministry to consider how it can impose taxes," Chief Cabinet Secretary....
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Creating a healthy regulatory ecosystem for Bitcoin and digital currency will not be an easy task. The Financial Services Agency in Japan will soon present their plan to regulate this new breed of finance, although it will have little to no effect on the current way of taxing Bitcoin. Bitcoin is often frowned upon for its alleged lack of regulatory guidelines when it comes to using the digital currency as a method of payment. However, people tend to forget various countries around the world are treating Bitcoin as either an asset or currency and impose taxation upon usage of the digital....