Bitcoin and the tax exemption on some British gold coins

[Jet Cash]

The UK has two gold coins which are legal tender. Actually there are more because they mint half Soverigns as well, but let us just consider the main units. The Soverign has a nominal vale of £1, and the Britannia has a nominal value of £100, but it will cost considerably more to buy them from the Royal Mint - around £1,000 for a Britannia. The interesting thing about them is that they are exempt from VAT, capital gains tax, and inheritance tax, but the cheaper silver range isn't. Obviously they provide a tax free store of wealth for the rich, and a convenient currency for high value transactions. It is difficult to understand why the UK government has made these tax concessions.

Many people consider Bitcoin to be digital gold, and there is some justification for this. The bankers are moving in on Bitcoin in a fairly serious fashion at the moment, and my feeling is that they will attempt to obtain tax concessions for their investments. Do you think that the inevitable government acceptance of Bitcoin will be accompanied by similar tax advantages?

[The Sceptical Chymist]

The bankers are moving in on Bitcoin in a fairly serious fashion at the moment

I'm not challenging you, Jet Cash, but do you have any sources for that assertion?  I'm curious about it, because I haven't read much about banks and their dealings with crypto.  I thought they really haven't gotten involved in it yet.  Hell, I got questioned about some transactions on my checking account when I bought bitcoin from Circle a couple years ago.  They were suspicious and raised their eyebrows when I told them it was bitcoin I'd bought.

I didn't know those gold coins were exempt from capital gains & inheritance taxes.  That's incredible to me, because I'm pretty sure it's not that way in the US--but we don't have VAT tax here.  I've no idea how governments are going to treat crypto tax-wise.  Right now we have to pay capital gains taxes and income tax on any bitcoin that was earned/mined.  I say screw that, but that's just me.

[Jet Cash]

These are the Royal Mint bullion coins, and you can see that the tax treatment differs.
https://www.royalmint.com/invest/bullion/bullion-coins/

My comment about Bitcoin and bankers is really from personal observation, and a number of reports that I've read. The strange price behaviour is another indication that some organisations are collecting Bitcoin, rather like the way they are collecting physical gold and silver. I understand that Jamie Dimon and others have been collecting Bitcoin for some time, and all the current banking instruments that are being created give me the feeling that they are consolidating their positions.

[Don Pedro Dinero]

AFAIK bankers are moving into blockchain technology and creating/suppoting their own shitcoins, like Ripple, but it would be surprising for me they are moving massively into bitcoin. Some individual bankers may do, as a way of diversifying their portfolio but it’s hard to believe for me that they are expecting a future tax exemption.

And that tax exemption about gold coins can be ceased at some point, especially if there are a high number in circulation. Governments’ hunger for taxpayers’ money is ceaseless.

[Jet Cash]

I agree that government hunger for taxpayers money is ceaseless, but the hunger for personal advantage for government officials is also ceaseless. I'm starting to believe that that is the main reason they become politicians, or senior civil servants. Gold Britannias must be a great way to receive untraceable payments for creating advantages for individuals and organisations. Bitcoin will become an even better method in my opinion.