Judge of Australia dictates that Bitcoin is money like the dollar
A recent judicial ruling in Australia could radically transform the way cryptocurrencies in the country are taxed. A judge of the state of Victoria concluded that Bitcoin (BTC) should be considered a form of money, similar to the Australian dollar, which would imply that it would not be subject to capital gains tax.
This decision represents a blow to the approach that the Australian Tax Office (ATO) has maintained since 2014, and I could open the door to millionaire reimbursements for taxpayers who paid this tax for operations with Bitcoin.
The ruling occurred within the framework of a criminal case against William Wheatley, an exagent of the Australian Federal Police accused of having stolen 81.6 BTC in 2019, quoted at that time in about 492,000 Australian dollars during an investigation linked to drug trafficking. then valued at approximately USD 492,000. Today it would be worth just over 13 million dollars.
At the time of writing this note, such a number of BTC holdings equals 13 million Australian dollars, with Bitcoin quoting around USD 105,000. This represents a total of US $ 8.5 million (USD).
Judge Michael O’Connell said that Bitcoin, although it is an intangible property, It must be treated as local money and not as foreign currency, actions or precious metals. According to this logic, exchange BTC would be comparable to change a $ 20 bill for two 10 bills.
If this interpretation is maintained in higher instances, it could allow thousands of taxpayers to claim already paid tax reimbursements. According to estimates by tax lawyer Adrian Cartland, who acted in the defense of Wheatley, The total amount could amount to the one billion Australian dollars.
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