Quote from: Wesley on July 23, 2014, 12:32:19 PM

Quote from: hilariousandco on July 23, 2014, 11:02:18 AM

Seems like New Zealand have got the right idea with this approach.

Quote from: Wesley on July 23, 2014, 08:17:18 AM

As a New Zealander, I find this rather interesting. I wonder what they mean by the phrase "monitor any use of bitcoin"? It seems that they want to make sure that people who receive bitcoins in exchange for goods and services pay tax on their bitcoin income, but I'm not sure how this would be enforced. Surely they aren't planning on hiring people to sift through the blockchain?

Like you said it just means they'll be watching to make sure it's used legitimately and not for nefarious purposes or money laundering etc. They'll just tax it when people exchange it for fiat and want their capital gains cut. I very much doubt anyone will be 'sifting through the blockchain', but it could be used to snare someone in the future if they're not careful.

Are you sure? This part of the article suggests otherwise:

Quote

"Generally, if someone sells goods or services in exchange for bitcoin, then the market value of the goods or services received in exchange is liable for tax. People should treat an alternative 'currency' dollar, such as bitcoin as they would a foreign dollar from a tax perspective, as transactions are assessable and deductible for income tax purposes to the same extent as other cash or credit transactions," an IRD spokeswoman told interest.co.nz

Eh? What would suggest otherwise? That's pretty much just what I said.