Portugal: Bitcoin transactions and payments are not subject to any taxes

The August 27 report said that the Spanish tax authorities have made it clear that the country will not tax cryptocurrency transactions and encrypted payments .

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According to a report published by the Portuguese business newspaper Jornal de Negocios on August 26th, the Portuguese tax and customs authorities have confirmed that there is no VAT on cryptocurrency transactions or payments. According to reports, the agency provided clarification to a local cryptocurrency mining company and issued an official ruling. In the document, the Authority stated that the exchange of cryptocurrency for fiat currency is tax-free and adds that cryptocurrency users are not subject to any income tax .

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Portugal cites a 2015 ruling on cryptocurrency tax exemption

In an official statement, the Portuguese tax authorities cited a European Court's 2015 ruling on the Swedish major bitcoin (BTC) portal Bitcoin.se and its administrator David Hedqvist.

According to reports at the time, the court ruled that bitcoin was a means of payment, so the exchange should be exempt from VAT obligations. However, the Swedish tax authorities subsequently refuted the ruling, claiming that the court did not fully understand the issue.

Earlier position on cryptocurrency

Earlier, the Portuguese tax authorities had ruled that cryptocurrencies were not taxed in the country. A document issued by the agency in 2016 stated that income from the sale of cryptocurrencies in Portugal is not subject to income tax.

In early 2013, the Bank of Portugal's Bank of Portugal (Banco de Portugal) issued a statement citing a document issued by the European Central Bank in 2012 related to cryptocurrencies.

The Bank of Portugal expressed concern about the European Central Bank's recognition of Bitcoin as a “virtual currency model innovation phenomenon”, claiming that Bitcoin cannot be considered a safe currency because it is issued by unregulated entities.

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