Title: [2018-02-20] Israel Tax Authority: Bitcoin is Property, Not Currency Post by: Diced90 on February 20, 2018, 11:28:38 AM Israel Tax Authority issued a professional circular on February 19 (4 Adar 5768), clarifying the country’s tax policy on cryptocurrencies in general and bitcoin in particular. “Bitcoin and its like” are discussed in what’s referred to as a “final circular” on crypto and value-added tax (VAT) along with capital gains.
Israel VAT Good News on Crypto “The Tax Authority’s position, which was expressed in the past, is [bitcoin is] a property, not a currency,” the Israeli agency clarified upfront. Israel is the economic jewel of Southwest Asia, routinely ranking alongside countries many multiples its size in terms of innovation and output. Punching above its weight in cryptocurrency as well, the country has grappled with bitcoin since at least 2013 in one form or another. Openness to the decentralized currency idea extends all the way to its current Prime Minister. Its tax policy might be not only a regional trendsetter but a world model. Going forward, “For purposes of income tax – in accordance with the circular, a distributed means of payment is an asset, and therefore a person whose activity as aforesaid does not reach a business is only entitled to capital gains tax and the person whose activity in the field reaches a business (trade in a distributed method of payment and / Such a measure), tax will be paid as any business activity,” the circular noted, suggesting it was speaking to the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) policy as well. READ MORE https://news.bitcoin.com/israel-tax-authority-bitcoin-is-property-not-currency Title: Re: [2018-02-20] Israel Tax Authority: Bitcoin is Property, Not Currency Post by: 1Referee on February 20, 2018, 02:41:07 PM If we look at how certain other countries are trying to rob people off their money, Israel seems to be somewhat on the conservative side with 25%, which at the same time is the highest tax level. We've seen recently that Japan is going full nuts with 55%, which makes the top level tax rate of Israel look like a joke. If I look at the tax rates concerning capital gains in the countries around me, then the average percentage fluctuates between 20-25%. If you have to pay anything below 20%, consider yourself lucky.
Quote Miners, if the implications remain, seem to be stuck with the worst of it, as they’re not only to pay capital gains but also VAT, which could boost their tax bill to some 42%. And still, that is much lower than Japan's 55% rate. But then again, VAT is something miners would be subject to in other countries as well, which basically means that their tax rates will always exceed that of a regular person's capital gains. It aint easy operating a business with so many variables to keep focusing on, especially if you have farms in different countries.Title: Re: [2018-02-20] Israel Tax Authority: Bitcoin is Property, Not Currency Post by: Kprawn on February 20, 2018, 03:08:31 PM The Bitcoin price volatility is so huge that I can agree with them that it cannot be defined as a currency. We have seen this
kind of volatility when the Zimbabwean economy fell apart. ::) It is also much easier to calculate the capital gains, if it is defined as a commodity. Most people still pay VAT when they use the converted fiat currency, so you would be paying VAT twice, if it was defined as a currency. ::) |