Bitcoin Forum

ATO guidance on GST treatment of bitcoin

Bramanathan says as a result the GST issue must be top of the list for the Senate committee inquiry into bitcoin because of its “immediate and serious negative impact on Australian businesses and consumers”.

The committee’s chairman, Senator Dastyari, says that will be the case. He left the door open for a possible reversal of the ATO decision.

“It is interesting to note the UK initially treated digital currencies, such as bitcoin, as a taxable product, only to change their definition to a currency a couple of months later,” Dastyari says.

 “(Tax commissioner) Chris Jordan was quite clear that the ATO decided to treat bitcoin as a taxable commodity because it doesn’t fit within our current definition of a currency. We don’t have the legal or regulatory framework to treat it as a currency.

 “We note that the digital currency community argues that bitcoin, and others, are used effectively as a currency – a medium of exchange. The truth is government policy needs to catch up with a technology that has already emerged and is spreading quickly.”


http://www.smartcompany.com.au/finance/tax/44029-ato-guidance-on-gst-treatment-of-bitcoin-at-the-top-of-agenda-as-senate-inquiry-is-officially-announced.html#



for me it sounds optimistic  :)

And in the meantime Australian's will just use non-Australian exchanges or Local Bitcoins ...  ;)