Why bitcoin should pay income tax
There are four big reasons why gains made from cryptocurrencies should come within the scope of income tax. And, in fact, the market even stands to gain from it. I explain why.
I know only one word that torments cryptocurrency fans more than “regulation” – it is “taxes”. Anything that looks like part of “the system” is promptly rejected, as if it had leprosy. Yet here we are. Extending income tax to crypto capital gains has entered the political agenda. And there are strong reasons to believe it will be discussed in the next legislature.
There are several theories, some of them conspiracy theories, about why Portugal is still one of the few tax havens for cryptocurrency speculators. Some even say it is a deliberate measure to attract foreign capital. For some years, I wondered the same. What was the Tax Authority waiting for?
AI translation from the Portuguese. First published in ECO on 23 December 2021.