Good news for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency investors; from next July, Australians will no longer be required to pay goods and services tax (GST) twice when purchasing cryptocurrency!
Presently, cryptocurrency transactions are, in essence, taxed twice in Australia. Once when you buy the currency, and then again when using the currency to buy any goods that are subject to the goods and services tax. After the long-fought passing of new legislation in parliament today, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and the legislation is coming into the modern age. The previous law came in in 2014 and treated cryptocurrencies in the exact same way as many other traded goods for GST purposes; a move that has been been subject to an intense amount of criticism from technology advocates and campaigners. Just last year saw government officials begin to make plans and pledge that they would rectify this controversial issue.
A review of the current situation was proposed in August by the Australian Senate Economics References Committee and the new legislation was set out in May’s budget by the Treasury Department. Now the new bill has passed, from the 1st July 2018, bitcoin and all other cryptocurrencies will be subject to the same GST treatment as all other foreign currencies are. Currently, there is a conversation on a large, international scale taking place about how certain assets, including cryptocurrencies, should be treated in terms of tax by governments and regulators. Australia is taking a step in the right direction; advocacy groups and campaigners taking on tax regulations surrounding cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin will help bring similar legislation in countries all around the world forward and into the modern age.
