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Priced at $ 16,000 per piece, three Bitcoins are now worth more than the Countries Low GDP per capita of $ 45,294 (2016), one of the richest countries in the world. But the current price of Bitcoin, which has been multiplied by sixteen compared to last year, is paltry compared to the price of a tulip bulb at the height of the Dutch Tulip craze that was selling more than ten times the annual income of a skilled craftsman.

The tulip mania began in 1593 when tulips were brought from Turkey and presented to the Dutch who fell head over heels in love. These brightly colored flowers were so popular that the prices of their bulbs were multiplied by twenty in one month. In 1634, speculators widely traded tulip bulbs on the stocks and futures of many Dutch cities, until their price collapsed and sales of panic began on February 3, 1637. This puts an end to the speculative prices of tulip bulbs. do not prevent the Dutch from trading them around the world until today.

Whether based on speculative fervor or not, the increased demand for Bitcoin that continually drives up its price destroys Blockcoin's Blockchain-based trading infrastructure. Virtual currency exchanges around the world are closing, diverting customers, and unconfirmed virtual currency transactions bouncing off satellites waiting to be webcast to another part of the world , rise steeply

New international tax rules needed to tax the digital economy

The pragmatic European Union (EU), which has a long history and global trade experience , clearly sees that (1) virtual currencies will continue to gain legal legitimacy (2) the world's largest satellite companies headquartered in the EU will continue to increase global connectivity, (3) to allow the adoption and implementation of Blockchain technology worldwide, and therefore (4) The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) must implement e an internationally coordinated global tax policy for EU member states to impose the benefits of the new digital economy.

The EU which has already exempted virtual currencies like Bitcoin from value added tax (VAT), on December 5, 2017 via ECOFIN has adopted conclusions on the international taxation of profits of the 39, digital economy, with the aim of defining a common position of the EU

Call for global action

In formulating an appropriate proposal, the ECOFIN Council calls for close cooperation with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and other international partners.

ECOFIN, in tandem with the OECD's Baseline and Benefit Erosion Reform Program (BEPS) implemented in response to the paper of the United Nations. OECD on the shadow banking system, stresses the urgency of: 1) modernizing the global network of dual conventions (BEPS 6), (2) agreeing on a policy by developing a concept of "shadow banking"; "Virtual permanent establishment" (BEPS 7), (3) together with any corresponding changes required to transfer pricing rules (BEPS 8-10).

In developing a global policy on the linkage between digital taxes, the ECOFIN Council proposes to take into account various elements of income, user and digital factors

The OECD Currently analyzing economic models of the digital economy (BEPS 1). He is preparing an interim report to the G20, scheduled for April 2018.

Action at EU level

ECOFIN observes that the speed of digitization of the I & # 39; economy and lack of international consensus on the modernization of tax allocation rules gives rise to unilateral actions. This leads to an increase in double taxation disputes between Member States, which undermines the EU's internal market. And creates more work for the EU Anti-Competition Commission that monitors damaging tax practices within the EU.

The power to levy taxes is essential to the sovereignty of the EU Member States, which has conferred on the EU only limited powers in this area. ECOFIN stresses the urgent need to adopt a European tax policy to the challenges of direct taxation of the digital economy by adopting the BEPS standards.

ECOFIN confirms that companies operating in the EU should pay taxes where value is created and profits generated since digitization, facilitating and accelerating cross-border trade through solutions technological advances, including Blockchain. in certain situations, a gap between the place where the profits are taxable and the one where the value is created

The ECOFIN Council proposes to the EU to adopt the principle of fiscal neutrality according to which the choice of tax policy and tax rules should treatment for comparable situations in the Member States. And encourages the communication of relevant information by digital platforms and markets to the relevant tax authorities, as well as the exchange of such information between jurisdictions in accordance with existing international tax laws.

ECOFIN proposes to add a temporary equalization levy on the basis of income from digital activities in the EU that would remain outside the scope of the conventions on double taxation concluded by the Member States. This approach would be consistent with the EU's action plan to coordinate a European response to corporate tax evasion, in line with global standards developed by the OECD.

The ECOFIN, while emphasizing his preference for a comprehensive global tax proposals appropriate EU wide for the digital economy by 2018