The supply of intellectual property falls within the general VAT rules for the place of supply of services. The CJEU’s view in Hedqvist (Case C-264/14) is that transactions in cryptocurrency are exempt for VAT purposes; this does not mean that transactions paid for in cryptocurrencies are exempt from VAT however. Blockchain is the electronic database which registers cryptocurrency transactions; and it is designed to operate without the control of a central authority. Although bitcoin is known for its anonymity there is no intrinsic reason why a blockchain cannot hold information about the owners of assets making it possible to trace back through transactions. Tax authorities have appeared enthusiastic about adopting blockchain for administrative purposes; it has even been proposed as a mechanism for a post-Brexit customs system. With blockchain also being adopted as the basis for private currency through an increasing number of ‘initial coin offerings’ ...
The supply of intellectual property falls within the general VAT rules for the place of supply of services. The CJEU’s view in Hedqvist (Case C-264/14) is that transactions in cryptocurrency are exempt for VAT purposes; this does not mean that transactions paid for in cryptocurrencies are exempt from VAT however. Blockchain is the electronic database which registers cryptocurrency transactions; and it is designed to operate without the control of a central authority. Although bitcoin is known for its anonymity there is no intrinsic reason why a blockchain cannot hold information about the owners of assets making it possible to trace back through transactions. Tax authorities have appeared enthusiastic about adopting blockchain for administrative purposes; it has even been proposed as a mechanism for a post-Brexit customs system. With blockchain also being adopted as the basis for private currency through an increasing number of ‘initial coin offerings’ ...
The supply of intellectual property falls within the general VAT rules for the place of supply of services. The CJEU’s view in Hedqvist (Case C-264/14) is that transactions in cryptocurrency are exempt for VAT purposes; this does not mean that transactions paid for in cryptocurrencies are exempt from VAT, however. Blockchain is the electronic database which registers cryptocurrency transactions; and it is designed to operate without the control of a central authority. Although bitcoin is known for its anonymity, there is no intrinsic reason why a blockchain cannot hold information about the owners of assets, making it possible to trace back through transactions. Tax authorities have appeared enthusiastic about adopting blockchain for administrative purposes; it has even been proposed as a mechanism for a post-Brexit customs system. With blockchain also being adopted as the basis for private currency through an increasing number of ‘initial coin offerings’, as businesses seek crowd-funding, a number of cases have raised the question of whether such use of the technology amounts to prepayment or vouchers for VAT purposes.