Australian Government To Reduce GST on Bitcoin Transactions

In times like these, people would almost forget there is Bitcoin news that does not revolve around Satoshi Nakamoto. A Tax cut on Bitcoin has been announced in Australia, and the local government wants to test other intangible currencies as well.

Australia Warms Up To Bitcoin

The relationship between the Australian government and Bitcoin has not been an easy one over the past few years. In fact, Australia is one of the very countries where Bitcoin earnings are taxed by law, which does not necessarily create a healthy startup environment. Now that FinTech is becoming the buzzword all over the world, something has to be done.

In a rather surprising turn of events, the Turnbull Government wants to reduce tax on Bitcoin transactions. As a result of this solution, Bitcoin users and businesses in the country will pay less than regular GST rates for their transactions, allowing them to “earn” more money that way. Quite an interesting change of heart which may be related to the whole Craig Wright debacle.

It is also important to note this Bitcoin tax decision is part of an AU$200,000 FinTech commitment, which will bring innovation to Australia. No country in the world can afford to miss out on the financial technology race right now, and Bitcoin is an integral part of the FinTech revolution.

Consumers who are no longer double-taxed when using Bitcoin seems to be a logical next step in the evolution in bridging the gap between GST and FinTech in Australia. This should allow for Bitcoin transactions to move more freely in the country, which may bring back some of the businesses which moved out of Australia when the double-taxation proposal was approved.

Last but not least, there are rumors the Turnbull Government wants to experiment with more intangible currencies than just Bitcoin. It remains unclear as to how such a statement should be interpreted, as this may very well lead to the Australian Central bank issuing their digital currency at some point in the future.

Source; Herald Sun

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