Poland’s tax authority announces VAT of 23% on the sale of mined Bitcoins

Poland is no longer a potential Bitcoin-friendly country, as a local tax authority just announced that the sale of mined Bitcoins is now subject to a value-added tax (VAT) of 23 percent. The news was revealed following a request submitted by a Polish cryptocurrency miner that asked for an interpretation of the country’s laws regarding the sale of digital money.

The request was studied by the director of the tax authorities in Lódz, central Poland, who released an official statement saying that “the applicant is planning to launch sales of the cryptocurrency as part of his commercial activity”.

Although the applicant believed none of the transactions he planned to make were subject to the Polish tax, the authorities decided he was wrong.

The release claims that the miner intended on selling the mined BTC to three different entities: two located in the European Union (United Kingdom and Lódz) and a foreign one, which can be found outside the European Union, in Belize.

According to the applicant, “the sale of Bitcoin is not subject to a value-added tax for commodities and services because Bitcoin is not a commodity (…) and the sale of the cryptocurrency which is mined by the taxpayer does not constitute a service”, the authorities said, adding that “the applicant said that a mined Bitcoin is not a commodity (…) because it does not have a material form”.

However, according to Coindesk, the authorities said that the applicant’s opinion does not have a legal basis, as he “is demanding a precise fee for the service [of Bitcoin mining]”.

Under the current law, the applicant’s legal assessment of the said situation is incorrect. The sale of the mined cryptocurrency (…) by the applicant to customers with the use of Internet and websites will constitue an activity which is subject to VAT in the territory of Poland. (…) On principle (…) the imposable tax rate is 23%.

Featured image from Wikimedia