Due to the very recent emergence of virtual currencies or cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, in South Africa, there are currently no specific laws or regulations that deal with the use of cryptocurrencies. It follows that, to date, there isn’t any court rulings or directives that focus on the tax treatment of Bitcoin-related transactions.
However, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has expressed its plans to release guidance on what the tax implications may be of trading in Bitcoin and are expected to advise on whether Bitcoin should be considered as an asset, a currency or a barter transaction.
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is an open-source math based peer-to-peer payment system which was invented in 2008 and can be described as a de-centralised convertible virtual currency. Bitcoin is protected by cryptography which relies on a public and private key to transfer value from an individual to another and each transaction must be cryptographically signed. Public key cryptography requires that each user be assigned a private key and a public key. The private key is kept secret like a password and the public key can be shared and is required to receive payment. The private key is required to sign a transaction to send payment.
Bitcoin users may use a Bitcoin wallet to store a collection of Bitcoin private keys. Typically a wallet is encrypted with a password or otherwise protected from unauthorized access. Signing an unconfirmed transaction acts as proof that the transaction originates from the senders address. Confirmation occurs when the transaction is written into a shared public database of all confirmed Bitcoin transactions. The public database is known as the ‘blockchain’. Bitcoin, however, is unregulated and has no central authority, no central monitoring, nor oversight.
The blockchain is a decentralised ledger of all transactions that serves as an irreversible and incorruptible public repository of information. Blockchain technology allows unrelated individuals to reach agreement on the occurrence of a particular transaction without the need for a centralized controlling authority.
The acquisition of Bitcoin can be achieved in three ways. Firstly, individuals can convert local currency to Bitcoins using many marketplaces commonly known as a ‘Bitcoin exchange’. An example of a Bitcoin is exchange is Luno, South Africa’s first Bitcoin exchange platform, which was founded in 2013. Secondly, individuals can exchange goods or services in order to acquire Bitcoin. Thirdly, Bitcoin may be acquired through what is known as ‘mining’. Bitcoin mining is achieved by successfully verifying Bitcoin transactions in the public ledger. This verification is achieved by the miner through the solving of complex algorithms. The miner verifies a Bitcoin transaction and simultaneously releases new Bitcoin into the network. The miner is then rewarded with a specific amount of Bitcoin for solving these algorithms to verify transactions.
Once Bitcoin is acquired, it may be used predominantly for three purposes. Firstly, Bitcoin may be held purely as an investment. Secondly, it may be exchanged for goods and services using online commerce internet sites and online payment platforms. There are more and more vendors today who accept and treat Bitcoin as a currency that can be exchanged for their goods and services. Thirdly, Bitcoin may be traded using an online Bitcoin exchange.
South African tax legislation and its impact on Bitcoin
South African industries were initially slow to react to the use of Bitcoin; however, this is changing rapidly as an increased number of companies are deciding to use Bitcoin. One example of this development is Takealot.com, an online retailer in South Africa, who now accepts Bitcoin as a method of payment. In addition, in September 2017, South Africa’s second-largest supermarket chain Pick n Pay piloted a project at a store in Cape Town where Bitcoin would be accepted as a method of payment. South Africa currently has two Bitcoin exchange platforms, namely Luno and Icecube. These platforms accept bank deposits in exchange for Bitcoins which, thereafter, may be used to trade or to purchase goods and services from vendors who accept the cryptocurrency as a method of payment.
The Davis Tax Committee (DTC), established by the Minister of Finance in 2013, was tasked with assessing South Africa’s tax policy framework in supporting inclusive growth, employment, development and fiscal sustainability. The report that the DTC compiled stated that the use of virtual currencies was not widespread in South Africa, however, it did provide that legislators need to consider the potential impact of virtual currencies on tax compliance and to monitor international developments in order to determine a suitable approach for South Africa.
Considerations of whether Bitcoin is currency or an asset and the implications thereof.
Currency
The Income Tax Act, 1962 (the Act) does not define the word “currency”. However, the definition of “local currency” under section 24I(1) includes “currency of the republic”. Therefore Bitcoin cannot be deemed “local currency”. The definition of “foreign currency” is defined in section 24I(1) as “any currency which is not local currency”. Bitcoin may potentially be considered to be foreign currency.
Section 24I(3) requires a taxpayer to include in his taxable income: any gain from a foreign exchange differential. Conversely any loss must be deducted from his taxable income. This inclusion in or deduction from a taxpayer’s income is in lieu of any inclusion or deduction ordinarily allowed in terms of the Act.
In short, section 24I taxes as income, all profits and loss whether realised or unrealised and whether of a capital or revenue nature, relating to any foreign exchange transactions entered into by a taxpayer. The marginal tax rate on taxable income for the 2017 tax year of assessment is calculated in terms of a sliding scale, with the highest rate for an individual is 41%, for a company is 28%, and for a trust is 41 %.
Asset
In terms of the Eighth Schedule to the Act, an “asset” includes “property of whatever nature whether movable or immovable, corporeal or incorporeal, excluding any currency but including any coin made from gold or platinum and a right or interest of whatever nature to or in such property”. Therefore, an asset, for taxation purposes, specifically excludes currency.
It is submitted that Bitcoin can be considered as a commodity that one trades, such as gold or silver, in the hope that its value will rise and yield a profit. Due to this similarity to gold and other comparable commodities, SARS may regard Bitcoin as an asset. It must then be established whether Bitcoin will be treated as income or revenue.
The taxpayer will be deemed to have held the Bitcoin as a capital asset if the intention of the taxpayer in acquiring, storing, disposing or exchanging of the Bitcoin was a capital intention and remained as such throughout the period that the Bitcoin was held, and there was no profit-making scheme present and no factors indicating a scheme of profit-making were present . In which case, the taxpayer will include in his taxable income any capital gain calculated under the Eighth Schedule to the Act. The effective capital gains tax rates for the 2017 tax year of assessment for individuals is 16.4%, for companies is 22.4%, and for trusts is 32.8 %.
If the intention of the taxpayer is to obtain Bitcoins for the purpose of profit-making, then the Bitcoin will be considered to be “trading stock” and of a revenue nature. In which case, the taxpayer will include such receipt in its taxable income.
Value Added tax implications on Bitcoin transactions
For a transaction to attract valued-added tax (VAT) in terms of the Value Added Tax Act, 1991 (the VAT Act) there should be a supply of goods or services by a vendor in the course of furtherance of an enterprise, on the importation of any goods in the republic, on supply of any imported service.
The VAT Act requires any person to register as a vendor for VAT purposes in South Africa if the person carries on an “enterprise” in South Africa, and the total value of taxable supplies made by that person exceeds or is likely to exceed the registration threshold of R1 million for a 12 month period.
The supply of goods and services are generally subject to VAT at the standard rate, unless such supply is specifically zero-rated or exempt in terms of the VAT Act. Standard rated supplies are subject to VAT at the prescribed rate of 14 %.
Therefore it is submitted that where a taxpayer involved in the mining and distribution of the newly mined Bitcoin (supply), and the supply exceeds R1 million, that taxpayer is obliged to register as a VAT vendor as that supply will be subject to VAT in terms of section 7 of the VAT Act.
“Financial services” as defined in section 2 of the VAT Act are exempted from VAT. In terms of section 2(1)(a), the “exchange of currency” is considered to be a financial service. Therefore, if SARS considers Bitcoin to be foreign currency, transactions involving the exchange of Bitcoin will be exempted from VAT.
Section 11 and 12 of the VAT Act deal with supplies which are zero-rated and exempted supplies respectively. It is highly unlikely that Bitcoin will be considered a zero-rated supply, in terms of section 11 of the VAT Act, or be considered as an exempted supply, in terms of section 12 of the VAT Act.
Bitcoin, and the taxation thereof, is not currently regulated by specific tax legislation in South Africa. The issue is that without tighter regulations it will be difficult for SARS to hold individuals to account for their taxes and will need to rely on the individual to accurately and honestly identify the tax consequences in their annual tax returns.
It is submitted that SARS should amend the definition of the term ‘asset’ in the Act to explicitly include virtual currencies. As Bitcoin is not yet widely accepted as a medium of exchange it seems unlikely to be classified as currency. It would be prudent to follow international practice on this matter and classify Bitcoin as an asset, such that taxpayers will be taxed using the existing tax legislation.
Whilst Bitcoin trading may still go unregulated, it provides South African taxpayers certainty in its tax treatment and should have a positive effect on the taxpayers reporting in their annual tax returns.
By Pranith Mehta, Tax Associate at Allen & Overy Johannesburg
