1. Bitcoin from the Polish tax perspective
Dr Judyta Przyłuska-Schmitt
Conference at the Lazarski University

2. Research problem How to tax virtual currencies?
Market data on regulation of virtual currencies in the world (in selected countries).
Taxation of virtual currencies from the perspective of business and non-business people.
The benefits and consequences of the legal regulation of virtual currencies.

3. Legal regulations of virtual currencies in selected countries

4. Study of the Law Library of the United States Congress of 2014
According to the approach to legal issues of Bitcoin trading, 4 categories of countries have been distinguished:
Countries without any measures to implement regulations for virtual currencies.
Countries that clarify the issue of taxation of virtual currency, but do not regulate further issues in this area.
Countries prohibiting or restricting the use of virtual currencies.
Countries that recognize the virtual currency as a special kind of money.

5. Countries 1st Group Countries 2nd Group
Alderney, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Greece, Hong Kong, Indie, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Malesia, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Italy
Finland
Spain
Israel
Norway
Slovenia
United Kingdom
Countries 3rd Group
Countries 4th Group
China
Island
Thailand
Brazil
Germany
Sweden
Source: Tu, K.V., Meredith, M.W., (2015), Rethinking virtual currency regulation in the bitcoin age, pdf. Washington Law Review, (Vol. 90:271), s

6. Regulations in the USA
Virtual currency and blockchain technology in the US are now more defined.
The 13 states, as of January 1, 2017, have clearly defined regulations for the blockchain and digital currency.
Almost all others remain in the gray area, with the exception of South Carolina and Montana, both of them do not have the money transmission laws.
From January 1, 2017, New Mexico is no longer in that category, and in fact it introduces a regulation that effectively limits virtual currency activity.

7. Regulations in the USA
In New York, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Hawaii, Georgia, North Carolina, Washington and New Mexico exist laws that are unfriendly to virtual currency.
According to Joe Ciccolo, chairman of BitAML, Bitcoin will continue to force Bitcoin traders to implement AML / KYC, a phenomenon that has grown in the second half of 2016.

8. Source: http://news.dinbits.com/p/united-states-virtual-currency.html

9. Position of the Court of Justice of the European Union
On , the Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed the position of the impact assessment of Bitcoin transactions on the basis of value-added tax (VAT) irrespective of their primary payment function.

10. BaFin position in Germany
Bitcoin and other cryptographic currencies are not legal tender, as they are “digging”, and therefore can not be classified as “electronic money” (BaFin 19/12/2013).
For tax purposes it is of such importance that Bitcoin should be treated as ordinary non-material economic goods (in the light of the Income Tax Act).
The specific impact of Bitcoin tax transactions is more dependent on whether transactions are carried out in the private or business sectors.

11. BaFin post for private users
Sales are, for example, the sale of Bitcoin for the euro via a trading platform and Bitcoin as a means of payment (for the purchase of goods or services).
In both cases, it is a sale through private (speculative) transactions within the meaning of § 23 par. 1. No. 2 of the Income Tax Act.
Taxes lead to the fact that capital gains after the ownership period of at least 1 year are tax-free.
Another possibility is to reach a free limit of € 600 per year for all private sales in a one year term.

12. BaFin position for companies
Companies can not make any private acquisition of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin, which is in the company's assets, leads to income from all business activities (§ 15 of the Income Tax Act).
Depending on the legal form of the company, the profits thus obtained are subject to personal income tax (personal income tax) or corporation tax (Corporation, LLC, LLP) as well as applicable business taxes.

13. From the point of view of the tax on goods and services
For companies accepting Bitcoin as an annoying payment is that the tax authorities later sell Bitcoin via a transaction platform on a regular basis as a regular revenue from the sale of supplies.
According to the ruling of the European Court of Justice, the purchase and sale of securities in a company is certainly not an economic activity and therefore not taxable.

14. From the point of view of the tax on goods and services
BaFin is against the exemptions states that Bitcoin trading and brokering is not (in accordance with Paragraph 4 of Part B of the UStG) exempt from VAT, because Bitcoin is not a legal tender.
According BaFin, in individual cases, tax exemptions may arise on the basis of § 4 No. 8 lit. C Act (UStG).

15. Bitcoin from the Polish perspective
The position of the Ministry of Finance on

16. From the point of view of income tax
Bitcoin trading is applicable to:
Article 18 of the Personal Income Tax Act of 26 July 1991, which contains an open catalog of income from property rights that may arise in the form of claims, formative rights and objections.
Property rights remain closely connected with the economic interest of the entitled person, characterized by the fact that they can be traded and have a certain property value.
Where Bitcoin transactions take place within the framework of an activity. (Article 5a (6) of the aforementioned Act)

17. From the point of view of the tax on goods and services
For goods and services in the area of VAT, the Polish Ministry of Finance refers to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Thus, for the purpose of taxation of VAT, Bitcoin is treated as a means of payment and is exempted from this tax under Art. 43 sec. 1 point 7 of the Act of 11 March 2004 on Goods and Services Tax (Journal of Laws of 2016, item 710, as amended).

18. Applications from the Polish Ministry of Finance
There is currently no justification for working on a separate blockchain and digital currency law.
On May 26, 2016, the European Commission adopted European Parliament Resolutions on how to look at the virtual currency market and their technology.
The European Parliament and European Council are working on a draft to change the currently directive (2015/498), about the prevention of the use of the financial system for money laundering, terrorist financing, and anti-money laundering (AML).
One of the issues is the recognition of virtual currency exchange platforms as obliged entities within the meaning of AML regulations.

19. Benefits and consequences
The government should regulate the problems of virtual currency in its own interest. The development of the systems is unstoppable and the procedure against these systems is sure to fail by the exceeded costs.
US tax laws and state-level actions show that Bitcoin can be used to enter into legal transactions subject to state money laundering regulations.

20. Benefits and consequences
Bitcoin - now the most popular virtual currency, which introduces a lot of confusion for two reasons:
Bitcoin has become a substitute for the official government currency.
Bitcoins are not a generally regulated payment medium, they are not controlled by governments, but can be used for illegal purposes.

21. Thank you for your attention