| A Senate inquiry has decided that bitcoin is a currency, but a study suggests it is largely bought and sold as an investment. For now, at least, bitcoin is unlikely to keep banking regulators awake at night. The Senate economics committee inquired into digital or "virtual" currencies last year after rulings by the Tax Office that bitcoin was an asset on which GST and capital gains tax should be paid.
In its final report, the inquiry has rejected that approach, recommending instead that bitcoin and other "crypto-currencies" be treated as forms of money for the purposes of tax law. However, it has stopped short of suggesting bitcoin be brought entirely into the fold of "real" currencies regulated by the Reserve Bank and accepted by your local bank...............................................Full Article: Source
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