Australian Treasury plans to abolish Bitcoin consumption tax, which is expected to take effect in July

Australia’s recently released national budget exempts Bitcoin purchases from Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The Australian Treasury announced the news today. The tax exemption ends years of controversy and consumers no longer have to pay double GST on initial purchases and when spending digital currencies.

The government has been studying the issue since mid-2015, and a few days ago, government officials reiterated their determination to solve the problem. The Ministry of Finance said that if the new budget is passed, the tax exemption policy will officially take effect on July 1.

The Australian government said that with the introduction of this new budget, "it will become easier for innovative domestic digital currency businesses to operate."

Since last year, government officials have expressed their intention to exempt digital currencies from sales tax as part of their efforts to develop financial technology (fintech).

The budget also includes support for a financial technology accelerator program that, according to the government, aims to give new technology companies two years to test financial products in a specialized environment — a strategy that most governments and central banks have begun to adopt in recent months.

Speaking about the project, the Treasury said:

Sound consumer protection mechanisms and information disclosure requirements can protect consumer rights in areas such as responsible lending, interest taxation, and compensation and dispute resolution arrangements.

In addition, although it was not included in the budget announced today, Australia is also revising regulatory rules for blockchain applications.