Bitcoin Sales Are Currency Transactions, Russia’s Tax Office Says

Russia’s tax agency is encouraging its citizens to report the purchase or sale of digital currencies as currency transactions.
In a tax letter obtained by CoinDesk dated this May, the Ministry of Finance’s Federal Tax Service responded to an electronic query on the subject in which it issued new guidance. The statements come amid larger debates domestically about whether bitcoin and other digital currencies should be banned entirely or allowed for specific uses.
The letter includes language describing how the agency treats the purchase and sale of digital currencies between Russia citizens and non-citizens as currency transactions.
A translated copy of the letter states:
“Consequently, the transactions of purchase and sale of cryptocurrency (virtual currency) between residents and non-residents, with the utilization of currency valuables and (or) currency of the Russian Federation, are, in fact, currency transactions.”

This post was published at Coin Desk on August 10, 2016.