This Bill Will Remove the No. 1 Obstacle to Owning Bitcoin

by Nick Rokke, International Man:

Nick Rokke: T, you’ve talked about a new law working its way through Congress. The bill would make every bitcoin transaction under $600 exempt from capital gains taxes.

I know you’re really excited about it. How will it affect our readers?

Teeka Tiwari: This new law could be a turning point for bitcoin in America. Because it removes the No. 1 obstacle preventing people from using bitcoin on a daily basis here in the U.S.

You see, right now, even if you buy a cup of coffee with bitcoin, technically you have to pay a capital gains tax on the purchase.

Nick: Why is that?

Teeka: Because of an IRS mandate. Back in 2014, when the IRS was trying to figure out what bitcoin was, they classified it as “property.”

That means if you buy bitcoin, and it goes up in price and you use that bitcoin to buy a cup of coffee, technically you have to pay a 28% tax.

So under current law, you’d have to keep track of every single purchase you made along with the price you paid for your bitcoin…

Nick: That’s absurd.

Teeka: Totally absurd.

Obviously, in a case like this, bitcoin is being used as a currency—not property. Everyone can see that… except the IRS. They say it’s property, so it’s taxed at 28%.

Now, this is an unfair burden on bitcoin. Every other currency gets an exemption.

If a European comes to America and pays for a cup of coffee in euros, no problem. No capital gains tax. But if he pays in bitcoin? Sorry, he has to pay an extra tax.

Nick: But you’re saying this could all change by the end of the year?

Teeka: Lawmakers are pushing through a law that will eliminate this. It creates an exemption for bitcoin payments under $600, making them tax-free.

Nick: The same exemption other currencies get?

Teeka: The same exemption.

No more “coffee tax.” Bitcoin is treated just like every other currency. It’s put on an equal playing field with the dollar, the euro, the pound, etc.

Nick, this sets the regulatory stage for bitcoin to be used as a daily currency.

Nick: But Teeka, is bitcoin actually going to be used daily? I mean, do they even accept bitcoin at Starbucks?

Teeka: They do. They started accepting it late last year.

Subway, Microsoft, Expedia.com, Dell…

Over 100,000 stores across the globe now accept bitcoin as payment.

And hundreds of thousands more have signed up in just the past year.

Now, I’m not saying that, overnight, everyone is going to be using bitcoin instead of U.S. dollars.

But what I am saying is… this change in the law… it could help the day-to-day use of bitcoin increase significantly…

I wouldn’t be surprised if usage doubled in the next 12 months. And that would obviously increase demand for, and ownership of, bitcoin.

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