BITCOIN TAXATION: the Belgian Federal Public Service Finance recently announced all cryptocurrency transactions conducted in the country would be exempt from VAT.

The news was officially confirmed by a FPSF representative in an interview with CoinDesk; the official explained that such a measure was introduced for the reason that in Belgium Bitcoin is not formally recognized as legal tender, and emphasized that the abolition of VAT for digital currencies might be temporary.

The question of BTC taxation was raised by a small Belgian company called Belgacoin. The authorities responded their question of whether or not to pay taxes on Bitcoin transactions by e-mail.

The official decision of the FPSF emphasized the current split on the Bitcoin taxation issue dividing the whole Europe.

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.

Ultimately, experts agree that the final decision of the European Court of Justice on Bitcoin taxation in EU countries is not to be expected very soon. According to Dutch tax lawyer Esteban van Goor, it may take the ECJ up to two years to come up with a consensus.

The exemption from VAT is praised by small Belgian Bitcoin companies, as it enables them to compete with major international BTC exchanges.