Finland Rules Bitcoin Services as VAT Exempt
The Finnish Central Board (CBT) of taxes today declared that exchanges were providing "banking services." The commission rates charged by exchanges were, therefore, in accordance with the EU VAT Directive, exempt from VAT (Value Added Tax). EU Directives, such as the VAT Directive, specify certain goals to be achieved by member states. The member states are granted considerable discretion as to how they will achieve these goals (see Article 288 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). "EU Regulations," in contrast, specify both the goals and the means by which States must....
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Finnish regulators have classified bitcoin as a financial service, thus granting it VAT-exempt status. The Finnish Central Board of Taxes (CBT) judged bitcoin to be a financial service in ruling 034/2014, which states that bitcoin purchases qualify as "banking services" under the EU Value Added Tax (VAT) Directive. The ruling was issued after a court classified bitcoin as a payment instrument and sets Finland's approach to the cryptocurrency apart from most European jurisdictions, which generally treat bitcoin as a commodity. However, the nation is not completely alone in taking this....
The nation of Finland has ruled that Bitcoin services will be exempt of Value Added Tax. While many in the Bitcoin community dread the thought of regulation and taxes, the fact is that if Bitcoin is ever going to become mainstream, both might become a necessary evil in some countries. But of outmost importance is the question of how those regulations and taxes are or will be applied. Countries around the world have been struggling with exactly how to address virtual currencies and the nations of the European Union are no exception. But now the Scandinavian nation of Finland ruled that....
The EU Court of Justice has ruled that Bitcoin exchange is exempt from VAT in a landmark ruling. The news follows a dispute in Sweden over the tax status of Bitcoin, with the Swedish Tax Agency lobbying for the rules to be relaxed and publishing a recommendation that this should occur. Previously, the VAT landscape in the EU varied between states, with some exempting Bitcoin services such as Finland and Spain and some requiring the currency to adhere to standard tax laws common to fiat currencies. “So, even a temporary ‘tax free’ status will get more people into cryptocurrencies [...] They....
Just one day following reported that tax authorities in the United Kingdom would be dumping a tax on bitcoin trading, HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs) has issued tax guidance on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Some interesting points: HMRC will exempt bitcoin mining income because "there is an insufficient link between any services provided and any consideration received." Bitcoin exchanges for Sterling and other foreign currencies will be VAT exempt. "Charges (in whatever form) made over and above the value of the Bitcoin for arranging or carrying out any transactions in Bitcoin....
Bitcoin transactions will be exempt from Value Added Tax (VAT), the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled. According to the Financial Times, the ECJ said that bitcoin transactions "are exempt from VAT under the provision concerning transactions relating to currency, bank notes and coins used as legal tender." The ECJ's long-awaited ruling comes after its Advocate General Juliane Kokott urged the court to refrain from applying tax to bitcoin purchases and sales, in an opinion document published in July. The European court first looked into bitcoin taxation in June last year after the....