Sales tax on bitcoin would be a “monumentally stupid” idea, according to Andreas Antonopoulos, a bitcoin enthusiast, author, and expert — as pointed out today by Startup Smart.
The words, which many in the community would agree with, come following a guidance related to bitcoin released by the Australian Tax Office earlier this year, which indicates the country’s Goods and Service tax (known as the GST) is effectively applied twice to bitcoin transactions.
“It’s as monumentally stupid as it would have been in 1994 to classify the internet as a fax machine service, and put it under the control of telecom companies,” Antonopoulos was quoted as saying at a meeting that took place in Melbourne recently.
He adds, “Or to classify it as a CB radio, a fancy CB radio and ask every user of the internet to pass a Morse code exam and have an operator’s licence. Those things didn’t happen at the time because regulators took a wait and see approach and decided to let the technology itself flourish for a while before trying to apply regulations.”
He continued, “By doing regulation in that way, Australia’s not making bitcoin slow down, what they’re doing is making bitcoin move out.”
His statement on the matter does make sense. After all, why should consumers paying with bitcoin be obligated to pay the so-called GST twice?
As time progresses, authorities themselves will recognize the unfair nature of these requirements. Take, for example, the news this weekend that a staffer for the Dutch Ministry of Finance said that VAT (value-added tax) shouldn’t be applied to bitcoin transactions.
[textmarker color=”C24000″]Source[/textmarker] Startup Smart