The main question underlying the research is how to tax the income derived by operations in which virtual currencies (a type of crypto asset) are involved, given the existing Italian tax law provisions. Concerning the first issue, since the Italian tax system is schedular (unlike the U.S. one, which is global), to assess if an income is taxable or not, it is necessary to check if one of the provided schedules includes it. Since none of the schedules contains provisions about cryptocurrencies, it is all about scholars’ efforts to find the already-existent legal category that suits cryptocurrencies and the operations in which they are involved. The branch of law to perform the qualification mentioned above is civil law: actually, civil law is regarded as the ius commune to look at when there is a new phenomenon to be qualified. Many solutions are proposed by scholars, and none of them is entirely satisfactory. However, the most persuasive theory is the one that considers cryptocurrencies as money since they fulfill these three features: being a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and a store of value. That having been said and considering that money is not regulated by tax law, unlike foreign currencies (which difference from money is that these are legal tender), it has to be verified if it is allowed to extend foreign currencies’ tax rules to the cryptocurrencies. Actually, it has to be noted that “currency” in tax law could be intended as a broader term also inclusive of “money”: the same word can have a different meaning in another branch of law, considering its specific principles, which is what happens with “foreign currencies” that must be intended as inclusive of “cryptocurrencies.” After this qualification, the next step is applying and adapting the foreign currency tax treatment to cryptocurrencies. It is found that the lack of a specific law that embraces their peculiarity (especially the volatility) leaves many open issues. Part of them is solved by the L. n. 197/2022, which lastly introduced an unprecedented tax treatment of virtual currencies.

Lo scopo della ricerca è ricostruire il trattamento fiscale delle valute virtuali, una species rispetto al genus “crypto-asset”. L’indagine ha preso le mosse dal funzionamento tecnico delle valute virtuali e, in particolare, della tecnologia su cui esse si basano, ossia la blockchain (capitolo I). Poste le necessarie basi per approfondire il fenomeno dal punto di vista giuridico, si è cercato di costruire una convincente qualificazione delle valute virtuali in diritto civile, inteso quale diritto comune da cui partire ogniqualvolta sia necessario inquadrare un nuovo fenomeno frutto del progresso tecnologico; all’esito dell’indagine civilistica, si è proposta una qualificazione delle valute virtuali come “monete” (II capitolo). Il passo successivo (capitolo III) è stato interrogarsi su quale dovesse essere il trattamento fiscale di queste nuove “monete”, considerando che il legislatore tributario si è preoccupato di disciplinare solo le valute estere. Le conclusioni a cui si è giunti (sempre nel capitolo III) è che la scelta dell’Agenzia delle entrate, operata nell’ambito della prassi amministrativa, di estendere il trattamento fiscale delle valute estere alle valute virtuali è condivisibile alla luce della diversa connotazione che possono assumere nel diritto tributario istituti di altri rami dell’ordinamento per essere adattati alle esigenze del settore (come avvenuto, ad esempio, con la nozione di possesso). Infine, si tentato di applicare concretamente le disposizioni in materia di valute estere alle valute virtuali, evidenziando alcuni problemi derivanti dalla particolare volatilità di quest’ultime. Nelle conclusioni, si è dato conto di come la legge di bilancio abbia recentissimamente inteso disciplinare la materia, ribaltando completamente la prospettiva dell’Agenzia delle Entrate.

(2023). Le valute virtuali e il trattamento fiscale dei proventi a esse connessi. (Tesi di dottorato, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, 2023).

Le valute virtuali e il trattamento fiscale dei proventi a esse connessi

TUMBIOLO, FRANCESCO
2023

Abstract

The main question underlying the research is how to tax the income derived by operations in which virtual currencies (a type of crypto asset) are involved, given the existing Italian tax law provisions. Concerning the first issue, since the Italian tax system is schedular (unlike the U.S. one, which is global), to assess if an income is taxable or not, it is necessary to check if one of the provided schedules includes it. Since none of the schedules contains provisions about cryptocurrencies, it is all about scholars’ efforts to find the already-existent legal category that suits cryptocurrencies and the operations in which they are involved. The branch of law to perform the qualification mentioned above is civil law: actually, civil law is regarded as the ius commune to look at when there is a new phenomenon to be qualified. Many solutions are proposed by scholars, and none of them is entirely satisfactory. However, the most persuasive theory is the one that considers cryptocurrencies as money since they fulfill these three features: being a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and a store of value. That having been said and considering that money is not regulated by tax law, unlike foreign currencies (which difference from money is that these are legal tender), it has to be verified if it is allowed to extend foreign currencies’ tax rules to the cryptocurrencies. Actually, it has to be noted that “currency” in tax law could be intended as a broader term also inclusive of “money”: the same word can have a different meaning in another branch of law, considering its specific principles, which is what happens with “foreign currencies” that must be intended as inclusive of “cryptocurrencies.” After this qualification, the next step is applying and adapting the foreign currency tax treatment to cryptocurrencies. It is found that the lack of a specific law that embraces their peculiarity (especially the volatility) leaves many open issues. Part of them is solved by the L. n. 197/2022, which lastly introduced an unprecedented tax treatment of virtual currencies.
SARTORI, NICOLA
PIERRO, MARIA
valute virtuali; criptovalute; tassazione; cripto; bitcoin
cryptocurrency; taxation; crypto; mining; staking
IUS/12 - DIRITTO TRIBUTARIO
Italian
17-mag-2023
35
2021/2022
open
(2023). Le valute virtuali e il trattamento fiscale dei proventi a esse connessi. (Tesi di dottorato, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, 2023).
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/415904
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