COPENHAGEN: No one pays more tax, as a percentage of GDP, than the Danes. So in the country with the world’s highest tax burden, officials are eager to ensure they don’t miss out on potential revenue as bitcoin goes mainstream.
As a first step, the Danish tax authority this year asked the tax board to decide whether using bitcoin constitutes speculation. Back in 2014, Denmark decided bitcoin wasn’t a currency, meaning it initially wasn’t possible to tax under capital gains rules. But authorities now feel a review is needed, given the cryptocurrency’s stratospheric growth of late.