An inquiry by Australia’s Senate Economics References Committee on an appropriate framework for digital currencies . Their final evaluation will help formalize the status of bitcoins into law, unlike the existing guidelines designed more as a draft.
Australian Digital Currency Commerce Association (ADCCA) chairman Ronald Tucker lauded the move:
“I am pleased the inquiry announced today will look at tax treatment issues, which I hope will lead to a correction of the current interpretation of bitcoin as taxable supply.”
He went on to site the importance of bringing digital currencies under the auspices of appropriate regulatory bodies.
Australia had been deliberating extensively on the matter before six weeks ago.
The chorus of voices calling for change to the tax guidelines has grown this week, with local bitcoin wallet provider CoinJar . The company, which is implementing new GST measures on bitcoin transactions, believes the framework can be simplified.
It can be a difficult argument to consider virtual currencies like bitcoin as currency for tax purposes. Conceptually, yes, it does fall somewhere in between. But a potential difficulty comes to mind when considering where to draw the line. If Bitcoin, then why not Litecoin, Dogecoin….Potcoin, or World of Warcraft (WoW) Gold? Staunch supporters of each would believe that their coins are the chosen currency. Perhaps any person or group of persons declaring and utilizing something as currency should be heard.
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