Australian tax commissioner: We may consider Bitcoin as money in the future

Chris Jordan, Commissioner of the Australian Tax Authority (ATO), indicated that bitcoins may be considered as money in the future. At an inquiry last week, he reportedly commented on 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:

“There’s a definition in the Tax Act of money. It’s got to be the legal tender of a country. We can’t say it’s money. If this grows more and more maybe the definition needs to change.”

The treatment of bitcoins as a currency would be viewed as both symbolically and practically favorable by Bitcoiners. In addition to their recognition as money by an official government body, capital gains taxes are avoided and VAT isn't owed upon their sale. When it comes to other avenues of income, such as through mining, currency and property are treated equally.

In the US and Canada, Bitcoin is considered like a money equivalent only for the purposes of crimes like Money Laundering Money Laundering Money laundering is a blanket term to describe the process by which criminals disguise the original ownership and proceeds of criminal conduct by making such proceeds appear to be derived from a legitimate source.Money laundering is an issue that traverses countless industries and sectors, which includes the financial services space. Though criminal money may be successfully laundered without the assistance of the financial sector, billions of dollars’ worth of criminally derived money are laund Money laundering is a blanket term to describe the process by which criminals disguise the original ownership and proceeds of criminal conduct by making such proceeds appear to be derived from a legitimate source.Money laundering is an issue that traverses countless industries and sectors, which includes the financial services space. Though criminal money may be successfully laundered without the assistance of the financial sector, billions of dollars’ worth of criminally derived money are laund Read this Term, much to the chagrin of some of the more passionate Bitcoiners.

The comments underscore how difficult it was for the ATO to reach a conclusion in this grey area and how easily it can be swayed. They had finally decided not to treat bitcoins as currency after months of deliberation on the matter, during which the authority reached out to local experts and businesses for their perspective.