Australian Government "Committed" to Removing Double Taxation of Bitcoin; Backs FinTech Growth
The Australian Government Treasury has, in a detailed policy statement pledging support for Fintech to boost the industry, revealed that digital currencies such as Bitcoin will be exempt from double taxation. The policy statement also details how the government plans on regulating companies in the Fintech arena, as well as those in the bitcoin and blockchain space. In a policy statement released by the Australian Government today, new proposed measures to boost the Fintech sector and establish Australia as a Fintech destination will see the government reduce tax barriers for Fintech....
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Following a policy statement by the Australian Government Treasury in March that saw the authority reveal that digital currencies such as Bitcoin are likely to be exempt from double taxation via the Goods and Services (GST) tax, the Australian Government has kept its word. The Australian Government’s Budget 2016-17 has listed its intention to remove the double taxation levied on digital currencies like Bitcoin. An excerpt from a summary of the 2016-17 Budget that focused on Jobs and Growth, released today, read: The Government has released a consultation paper on changing the GST treatment....
The Australian Government announced in its report entitled “Backing Australia's Fintech” that the current double tax law on digital currencies including Bitcoin is soon to be reformed. Digital currencies such as Bitcoin were in 2014 established by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) as intangible assets for goods and services tax purposes. Thus, payments involving bitcoin have been considered as a form of barter rather than conventional transactions. However, the major issue with the GST law on digital currencies is that Australian residents who purchase items or goods using bitcoin are....
In March, the Australian government released a multi-faceted policy statement on financial technology that included items on both digital currencies as well as broader blockchain applications. Included in the policy statement was a declaration from the Australian Treasury that it would seek avenues to reduce the goods and service tax (GST) effectively applied twice to bitcoin users in the country, both when they purchase digital currency from a seller – an event that triggers GST – and again if they go on to use it to make a purchase. Earlier this week, the government released a discussion....
Last year, Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison promised to swiftly act on changing the goods and services tax (GST) law, in order to end the double taxation of bitcoin and other digital currencies. However, over fourteen months have passed without any legislative progress. Now, the issue is no longer a priority and bitcoin continues to bear GST twice in....
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) says it remains committed to its plans for potential blockchain integration after the CEO who helped lead the project abruptly resigned. ASX's acting boss, chairman Rick Holliday-Smith, told Bloomberg that he views distributed ledger technology as a "unique opportunity" for Australia to become a leader in the financial technology space. "The ASX board is committed to the development of distributed ledger technology," Holliday-Smith wrote in an email to Bloomberg, according to a report today. A letter signed by the....