This master thesis focuses on the tax treatment of cryptocurrencies and not crypto tokens. For a better understanding of the issues arising from the taxation of cryptocurrencies and the specifics of cryptocurrencies I have summarized the history of cryptocurrencies and described the operation of the blockchain system and how the transactions in such system are performed.
I have summarized the current Slovenian regulations with respect to cryptocurrencies and emphasized the most important questions that remain open in this relation. Open questions mainly relate to the exchange of cryptocurrencies to fiat currencies and arise from the continuous fluctuation of the value of cryptocurrencies.
At the beginning the transactions with cryptocurrencies were mainly performed by individuals, thus I have analysed the taxation of personal income taxes and summarized the milestones for determining whether an individual is acting as a sole entrepreneur when involved in transactions with cryptocurrencies. When it comes to the taxation of corporate income the most important thing is to apply the correct accounting standards, therefore the current standards and consequences of applying different accounting standards are included in the thesis.
Value added tax implications are most widely explained and analysed in the thesis. This is due to the reason that this is the only tax harmonized in the EU. Additionally, the European Court of Justice has already issued a judgment with respect to VAT treatment of transactions in connection to cryptocurrencies. The purpose of the judgment is the unified application of EU law and the European Commission follows the opinion of the ECJ when it comes to the taxation of cryptocurrencies. My opinion is that the judgment of the ECJ will have a significant impact on all tax regulations in the Member States, which is also evident from the fact that Slovenian Tax Authorities have already applied the judgment to the interpretation of the Slovenian Financial Services Tax Act.
Finally, I have compared the taxation of cryptocurrencies in Slovenia with the taxation of cryptocurrencies in the United States of America and in the United Kingdom. As expected the United States of America took a completely different approach to taxation of cryptocurrencies than most EU Member States while, on the other hand, the regulations in the United Kingdom are very similar to those in Slovenia.
|