VAT treatment of virtual currencies in the European Union: regulatory challenges and proposals

Abstract

Nowadays, the EU tax governance of virtual currencies is considered to be partial or incomplete. The research seeks to evaluate the contemporary VAT regime’s effectiveness in regard to virtual currency related operations in order to identify the “safe” and “blank” spots of such. The paper aims to establish the main characteristics and categories of virtual currencies as well as the technology they are based upon, define applicable principles of the existent VAT regulatory framework to the foregoing currencies and, subsequently, locate and evaluate the central challenges that have arisen. The contemporary VAT regime may be considered effective in regard to the unidirectional virtual currency schemes and P money. However, the regulation of cryptocurrency related operations requires further research and subsequent adoption of a mix of rules and administrative interpretative or corrective principles that possesses a certain degree of adaptability and flexibility.