Australia to perform final evaluation of bitcoin for tax purposes, ADCCA chairman hopes for "correction" to guidelines

An inquiry by Australia's Senate Economics References Committee on an appropriate framework for digital currencies was successfully moved in Parliament. Their final evaluation will help formalize the status of bitcoins into law, unlike the existing guidelines designed more as a draft.

Australian Digital Currency Commerce Association (ADCCA) chairman Ronald Tucker lauded the move:

"I am pleased the inquiry announced today will look at tax treatment issues, which I hope will lead to a correction of the current interpretation of Bitcoin Bitcoin While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that Read this Term as taxable supply."

He went on to site the importance of bringing digital currencies under the auspices of appropriate regulatory bodies.

Australia had been deliberating extensively on the matter before deciding on the current guidelines six weeks ago.

The chorus of voices calling for change to the tax guidelines has grown this week, with local bitcoin wallet provider CoinJar weighing in as well. The company, which is implementing new GST measures on bitcoin transactions, believes the framework can be simplified.

It can be a difficult argument to consider virtual currencies like bitcoin as currency for tax purposes. Conceptually, yes, it does fall somewhere in between. But a potential difficulty comes to mind when considering where to draw the line. If Bitcoin, then why not Litecoin, Dogecoin....Potcoin, or World of Warcraft (WoW) Gold? Staunch supporters of each would believe that their coins are the chosen currency. Perhaps any person or group of persons declaring and utilizing something as currency should be heard.