Cryptocurrency Needs Fair Taxation: Lawmakers Introduce Supportive Legislation

[cheezcarls]

You might not know it, but every time you spend cryptocurrency in the US, you are creating a taxable event. Despite digital currencies being convenient payment methods, the nation’s regulators do not treat purely digital representations of value as either legal tender or a foreign currency.

The US regulatory body, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), considers Bitcoin and other digital currencies as commodities. The nation’s tax authority, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), considers cryptocurrencies as assets or intangible property. Yet, people can spend digital currencies just like they would dollars or foreign currencies. This is a problem because when an individual exchanges digital currency for either goods or another currency (spends it or trades it), the IRS considers that a taxable event.

To read the full article, click here

Do you guys agree with this or not?

We are all aware that those US lawmakers are doing whatever it takes to make cryptocurrencies taxable. Last year, US residents are receiving mails about them paying their taxes on whatever amount of cryptocurrencies they are possessing.

There are countries like Singapore who doesn’t tax their residents when trading cryptocurrencies. What do you guys think about this move by the US lawmakers?

Do you think it is necessary for US residents to pay their taxes fairly whatever coins or tokens are they holding? Or these lawmakers must leave them alone? Would like to hear more about your reactions or opinion about this one. Thanks!

[CryptoBry]

We are all aware that those US lawmakers are doing whatever it takes to make cryptocurrencies taxable. Last year, US residents are receiving mails about them paying their taxes on whatever amount of cryptocurrencies they are possessing.

There are countries like Singapore who doesn’t tax their residents when trading cryptocurrencies. What do you guys think about this move by the US lawmakers?

Do you think it is necessary for US residents to pay their taxes fairly whatever coins or tokens are they holding? Or these lawmakers must leave them alone? Would like to hear more about your reactions or opinion about this one. Thanks!

As a taxpayer myself, I think laws on cryptocurrency taxation should be simple and easily implementable especially on our side.  As far as I know, taxation is getting to be complicated especially in the USA. Maybe it is time that there must be a single voice of the whole cryptocurrency industry by having an advocate in Congress. Yes, we always believe that treating cryptocurrency especially Bitcoin as a currency is the right thing to do as it can make things better and simpler. This is what lawmakers should be focusing on.

[hugeblack]

I wrote about some legislators issuing a draft law to exempt small transactions from taxes^[1] and it indicates an understanding of the nature of the work of this technology and therefore better tax treatment.

Until now, the definition of Bitcoin in the United States is not considered accurate, and therefore the taxes imposed on it cannot be considered fair, but over time many concepts may change.
Some countries have developed technologies that enable them to track cryptocurrencies, and some central banks have put forward ideas to create central coins. Things are getting better.

[1] U. S. Congress proposes to free small cryptocurrency transactions from taxes

[Kyraishi]

The only objection that I would have for a lot of country's taxation laws regarding BTC is that

a) They are often extremely vague, with no clear cut cases or examples for specific scenarios
b) Bitcoin may be classified as a commodity/security instead of currency which as a result leads to double taxation in certain parts of a transaction.

We've seen countries such as Australia and Japan abolish double taxation and clarify tax rules on crypto. It's time for other countries, like the US, to follow suit.

[Getmon]

The only objection that I would have for a lot of country's taxation laws regarding BTC is that

a) They are often extremely vague, with no clear cut cases or examples for specific scenarios
b) Bitcoin may be classified as a commodity/security instead of currency which as a result leads to double taxation in certain parts of a transaction.

We've seen countries such as Australia and Japan abolish double taxation and clarify tax rules on crypto. It's time for other countries, like the US, to follow suit.

The problem starts from definition. How should they define Bitcoin or crypto? Taxation will oftentimes follow from these. It is hard to start regulating, imposing tax, classifying them, etc when the parameters are not yet clearly set.

[philipma1957]

You might not know it, but every time you spend cryptocurrency in the US, you are creating a taxable event. Despite digital currencies being convenient payment methods, the nation’s regulators do not treat purely digital representations of value as either legal tender or a foreign currency.

The US regulatory body, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), considers Bitcoin and other digital currencies as commodities. The nation’s tax authority, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), considers cryptocurrencies as assets or intangible property. Yet, people can spend digital currencies just like they would dollars or foreign currencies. This is a problem because when an individual exchanges digital currency for either goods or another currency (spends it or trades it), the IRS considers that a taxable event.

To read the full article, click here

Do you guys agree with this or not?

We are all aware that those US lawmakers are doing whatever it takes to make cryptocurrencies taxable. Last year, US residents are receiving mails about them paying their taxes on whatever amount of cryptocurrencies they are possessing.

There are countries like Singapore who doesn’t tax their residents when trading cryptocurrencies. What do you guys think about this move by the US lawmakers?

Do you think it is necessary for US residents to pay their taxes fairly whatever coins or tokens are they holding? Or these lawmakers must leave them alone? Would like to hear more about your reactions or opinion about this one. Thanks!

The grief these new rules have caused me is really  hard to explain.

I am still attempting to clear up me 2018 return  which will have to be filed as a corrected return for the 3rd time.

I mostly  sold gear since I joined BiTCointalk.

After 2017  In 2018 I sold off a lot of gpus. lets say  a $500 gpu when purchased earned 300 mining and spent 100 on power.

so 500-300= 200 + 100 = 300 cost basis  let say  I sold it for 450

so 450 - 300 = 150 profit  on that unit.

With new rules put in place in 2018  that 1 piece of gear needs 20 lines of input to report it.
I need to report the payment in whatever coin.
I need to report whatever I did with the coin.

Ie 450 in ltc to coinbase
move it to gdax/coinbase pro
the trade of it to btc  and if it took 9 mini sales  instead of one all nine mini sales.
the sale of the btc to cash  and if it took nine mini sales instead of one report all of them
the  moving of it back to coinbase
the moving of it to a bank.

   So if I did 50 sales in a year making 7500 profit.
  I may have 5000 or 7000 entries to show what I did.

Simply insane.

[Theb]

That's the sad thing about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies being classified as intangible assets which makes them taxable when it comes to bartering. All in all this is an issue about classification and whether or not they do agree that cryptocurrencies act as a currency. I myself cannot consider cryptocurrenices purely as a type of currency considering the amount of it's price movement and how a lot of people are trading it in multiple exchanges that's why with their propose bill that crypto payments under 200$ are not taxable is something I think their citizens will be able to work with. It's a kind of exemption that can be a win-win for both the government and their citizens, while they are still labeled as an intangible asset their citizens can enjoy tax-free transactions below 200$, I guessed that anything above that is where they need to get smart on using cash or converting their crypto to cash to avoid some unnecessary tax.

[gentlemand]

The US rules are flat out bonkers. I didn't realise it was from dollar one until it was pointed out to me. I can't believe any sensibly operated country would run like that. In the UK you have a tax free allowance up to a certain figure. At the very least there should be something similar there.

[darkangel11]

The US rules are flat out bonkers. I didn't realise it was from dollar one until it was pointed out to me. I can't believe any sensibly operated country would run like that. In the UK you have a tax free allowance up to a certain figure. At the very least there should be something similar there.

I doubt there can even be and will ever be something like a fair taxation in the US.
Maybe we should first define what is "fair". For one person a fair taxation will be 1%, for another 20% and for me personally no % because percentage-based tax isn't fair in the first place. A country that promotes equality should enforce equal taxation and percentage-based income tax is not equal. It favors those who work hard and gives more slack to bums and slackers.

Why not stop at taxing ownership. We already pay tax for the land and every building we build on it, we pay taxes on things we buy at stores, on alcohol and tobacco, on our cars and the fuel they burn separately... I'm happy that I don't live in a country that is trying to tax money in my drawer and Bitcoins that I haven't touched since 2014.

[gentlemand]

I doubt there can even be and will ever be something like a fair taxation in the US.

Sensible would be good enough. Anyone would look at how it works in the US and immediately call it out for being insanely unwieldy and encouraging people to try to dodge it. There should be some pragmatism applied.

[sheenshane]

It's been a while since the US implemented taxation in cryptocurrencies that broke a lot of people's heart especially the people who meant using the currency for tax avoidance and money laundry.

But I've heard that US taxation for cryptocurrencies makes an exemption for a lower transaction. I myself won't need to worry about it since I only do small transactions. If I were the government, I would've implemented taxation for cryptocurrencies too. An asset that flows in crypto-space is not a joke anymore. It would affect the economics a little, but it counts. And I wouldn't let the laundrymen use it as a washing machine, I swear.