Govt moves to abolish double tax on Bitcoin

The federal government has introduced its promised Bill to remove double taxation of digital currencies such as Bitcoin.

The proposed Bill will remove the GST charge on purchases of digital currency retrospectively from 1 July, in line with the government’s announcement of the plan in the 2017–18 Budget.

Currently, consumers using digital currency can bear GST twice, once to purchase the currency and again on the goods or services purchased with that currency that are subject to GST.

Announcing the move, Treasurer Scott Morrison said the legislation has been developed in close collaboration with the FinTech industry, and is expected to boost jobs and wages by making it easier for innovative digital currency businesses to operate in the country.

The proposed legislation has already been unanimously approved by the states and territories.

The government has also recently introduced tax concessions to encourage investments in early-stage FinTech start-ups and legislated for a crowd-sourced equity funding regime.

“This week’s Global Financial Centres Index saw both Sydney and Melbourne featuring within the top tier of FinTech and financial services destinations, off the back of strong support from the Turnbull government,” Morrison said.

“[We] won’t rest on our laurels. We will continue to work with the Australian FinTech industry to help create an environment where it can be both internationally competitive and play a central role in the positive transformation of our economy.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Simon Booth

Follow us and share on Twitter and Facebook