Evaluating the EU's New Definition for Virtual Currencies
The European Commission this week adopted a legislative proposal meant to bring virtual currency exchanges and custodian wallet providers under the scope of the EU's Anti-Money Laundering Directive. This step should have been expected, as it has been clear that the European Commission wanted the AML regulatory framework to be extended. However, the importance of the proposed laws still can go beyond AML regulations. Perhaps the most far-reaching consequences could be triggered through its introduction of a legal definition for "virtual currencies", the first under EU law.....
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The US Internal Revenue Services, IRS, has agreed to three key recommendations made by the US Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), which may introduce changes to virtual currencies such as Bitcoin. The currencies are presently used for tax purposes, especially by businesses in the US, according to a newly released tax review report. The TIGTA now views virtual currencies - especially Bitcoin which it says controls 82 percent of the entire virtual currency market - as allowing taxpayers to pay for goods and services in the same way as traditional currencies. The review....
The National People’s Congress, the national legislature of China, has released draft text for a civil law code that, if implemented, would provide a legal definition for virtual property. Following the announcement yesterday, reports began emerging that the definition could extend to blockchain-based assets including bitcoin and other digital currencies, with such speculation being set off by communications from ChinaLedger, a China-based blockchain consortium and local OTC trading firm BTCKhan. However, ChinaLedger’s legal lead, Broad and Bright partner Roland Sun, as well as other....
Starting in the year 2022, donated or inherited virtual assets will be assessed and taxed accordingly, South Korea’s National Tax Service has said. Dunamu, Bithumb Korea, Korbit, and Coinone are the new virtual asset service providers (VASPs) tasked with evaluating digital assets for such tax purposes.
Virtual Asset Service Providers Tasked With Evaluating Crypto Gifts
South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) recently announced that starting in 2022, digital assets that are inherited or donated will be taxed, a report has said. It added that such digital assets....
Financial regulators in Japan proposed the recognition of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as legitimate methods of payment on par with fiat money. Exchanges will need to register.. On the 23rd of February the Financial Services Agency of Japan submitted legislative revisions that would see Bitcoin and other virtual currencies recognised as legitimate currencies. This has come about as a result of realizing that virtual currencies essentially fulfil the nation’s definition of the functions of a currency. “There is a long way to go...But we have discussed reform and believe it is the right way....
Japanese legislators officially proposed handling virtual currencies as methods of payment on February 23, Nikkei reports. This would mean that virtual money, such as Bitcoin, would become the regulatory equivalent of conventional currency. Legislators of the financial services industry believe that this move could potentially strengthen consumer protection and create growth in the virtual economy. At the moment, Bitcoin is recognized as “an object,” but it is not considered equal to more established forms of currency. The proposed changes to the definition of virtual currencies would mean....