Terrorism, Not Taxes, Is the Key Focus on Bitcoin, Canada Says

Finance Minister takes status quo approach despite warnings
Tax collection may be ‘elusive’ after 14-fold gain in 2017

Canada’s focus is "making sure that we understand what’s going on underneath that market," Morneau told Bloomberg.Source: Bloomberg

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By Josh Wingrove

January 29, 2018 at 9:00 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Canadians trading bitcoin shouldn’t hold their breath waiting for specific rules on how they’ll be taxed.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau, speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, said Canada isn’t planning changes to existing tax code to deal with crypto-currencies. But some observers say the rules leave too much room for uncertainty about Bitcoin, which in Canada can essentially be treated as money, a commodity or even income.