The Federal Ministry of Finance of Germany published a document specifying the treatment of taxes for transactions or transactions with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
The financial institution, ruled what will be the legal treatment of cryptocurrencies in a document dated February 22 that was released through the official website yesterday. What is established in the document is the conclusion of some discussions with financial entities from several European countries.
In principle, the document states that purchases of goods or services with bitcoin, like other cryptocurrencies, are not subject to taxes while the use of this is a means of payment, since it would be used in the same way as a currency. legal course
Essentially, the German financial institution specifies in the document that the decision to exempt from taxes the aforementioned type of transactions with cryptocurrencies, is based on the fact that it is a contractual payment that is not controllable:
They become legal means of payment, to the extent that these so-called virtual currencies of those involved in the transaction are taken as a contractual alternative and immediate means of payment that have been accepted, with no other purpose than to serve as a means of payment.
Federal Ministry of Finance
The Federal Ministry of Finance added that cryptocurrencies facilitate the use of conventional payment methods. Because the payment rates are established by those who provide the service (miners) corresponds to a calculation equivalent to the value of the currency of the State where the service is provided at the current time in which the transaction occurs.
However, the exchange of cryptocurrencies to fiduciary money and vice versa will be subject to taxes; this, according to the document, is "a miscellaneous benefit subject to taxes that is paid according to a directive". This will also depend on whether it is an intermediary that makes the change in your name, in which case it is exempt from taxes; or if it is a platform or market that operates commercially, where it should cancel taxes.
Transactions related to mining will not be subject to taxes, because they are "non-taxable transactions". This is because the transaction fee charged by the miners is paid voluntarily.
Also, the document mentions what other operations with bitcoin would be subject to taxes. The fees of purse or wallet providers will also be taxed because such services require the payment of fees. Finally, the document indicated that these rules do not apply to virtual money of online games or video games.
In parallel, these fiscal specifications are related to a ruling by the European Court of Justice of 2015 on value-added taxes (VAT). Specifications that seem to be in line with the statements of the Vice President of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, said today that Europe must accept cryptocurrencies to remain competitive.
On the other hand, prior to the decision of the German entity, the Central Bank of the country declared that for the regulatory measures to be successful, they must be global in nature.