Italy Wants to Treat Bitcoin as Currency And Tax It

On September 2, Agenzia delle Entrate, the major Italian tax authority, published a new document titled ‘Bitcoin and digital currencies buying and selling: clarification on the tax treatment’ about the fiscal treatment of Bitcoin and how VAT would be applied to digital currency transactions.
The document states:
‘Traditional currency intermediary activities made with virtual currencies held by market participants are exempt from VAT, as they are among the transactions related to banknotes and coins.’
In Italy there are several places where you can use Bitcoin as a method of payment. From tennis clubs to painters, from bed and breakfast to lawyers, you can buy everything you need with Bitcoin, especially in the tourist and computer fields.

This post was published at Coin Telegraph on 2016-09-12.