Bitcoin Attracts Tax Haven Jurisdictions
The online gambling industry is currently one of the industries raising more profits in the online sector. The idea of using virtual currencies to fund online accounts has been growing and the gambling industry doesn’t want to miss the train. Much like the gambling industry did before the digital currency is now attracting a lot of tax haven jurisdictions.
Digital currency attracted the interest of many administrations in various jurisdictions.
The Isle of Man is one of the finest examples. The Isle of Man, or Mann, is a self-governing British Crown dependency located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. The United Kingdom is responsible for representing the island in international forums while the island’s own parliament and government have competence over all domestic matters. Mann is widely known to be a safe haven for the Gambling industry. The online gambling industry has grown since 2001 to $20bn in annual revenue. The latest Ernst & Young research points out to the fact that online gambling accounted for 8% of the national income on the Isle in 2010, providing nearly 700 jobs. Now, Mann authorities are seeking to provide a safe haven for digital currency projects and other related businesses as well.
With this move, Mann authorities intend to have a similar economic boom in its early embrace of the online gambling and electronic gaming industry. Many other Tax-haven jurisdictions are certainly soon to follow!
The Isle of Man’s head of operations for digital development, Brian Donegan stated the Isle of Man’s government is still moving ahead to put measures in place to help the digital currency industry thrive. Donegan believes bitcoin is an opportunity and feels that support could achieve similar growth, given the combination of resources the jurisdiction offers.
While Belgium and the United Kingdom have adopted a more progressive attitude to bitcoin trade, other countries, including Estonia and Poland introduced 20% and 23% VAT respectively on digital currency-related trade activities.
Spain is also another region where the bitcoin industry is still waiting for the confirmation that digital currencies will be Value Added Tax-free. The application of VAT to bitcoin services is still very unclear in the European Union. If confirmed, the exemption will open Spain’s doors as a safe haven to the digital currency industry.
