Europe's highest court ruled in response to a request by Swedish
tax authorities, who had argued bitcoin transactions should not
be covered by a European Union directive exempting currency
transactions from value added tax (VAT).
The court ruled that bitcoins should be treated as a means of
payment, and as such were protected under the directive.
"Those transactions are exempt from VAT under the provision
concerning transactions relating to 'currency, bank notes and
coins used as legal tender'," the ECJ concluded.
(Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
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