The taxation of cryptocurrencies in Austria

The aim of this paper is to provide the reader with a basic understanding of blockchain cryptocurrencies and the associated tax issues/questions. It attempts to answer the following key questions:•What income tax consequences do cryptocurrencies have for private individuals? •What tax considerations do companies need to bear in mind in relation to cryptocurrencies?•To what extent does value added tax play a role in relation to cryptocurrencies?Only the Austrian legal situation is examined from a tax perspective although the ECJ ruling cited above can also be applied to other countries in the European Monetary Union. Nevertheless reference should be made at this point to existing differences with the laws in Germany in order to avoid misinterpretations. This paper is supplemented by references to numerous specialist articles and other literature which can be found in the bibliography.