As part of the 4th meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the G20, the OECD yesterday presented a report on the tax treatment of cryptocurrencies around the world. The rapporteurs looked at all aspects of the taxation of cryptocurrencies in more than fifty jurisdictions.
If it thus appears that the capital gains from the sale of cryptocurrencies are generally subject to tax, it is at very variable levels and according to conditions. Some countries define more or less important thresholds and sometimes exemptions depending on the period of detention and the taxpayer's status. Trade for goods, services or wages is treated as a taxable event in almost all countries.
Not surprisingly, cryptocurrencies are generally subject to inheritance tax wherever the inheritance is taxed, including Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Korea. , the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Unlike income taxation, the treatment of VAT is much more uniform and most countries tend to treat cryptocurrencies as fiat currencies, with VAT generally only applying to charges levied by the intermediary. New Zealand is one of the very few countries to take a different approach, but its “case-by-case” approach to VAT treatment is currently under review.
In the few countries where this tax exists, cryptocurrencies are included in the wealth tax, this is the case, for example, in Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain and Switzerland.
The report ends with a series of recommendations for the G20 member countries.
