~ why exactly do we owe taxes on crypto-earnings to the government??
I'd really like to see some viewpoints on this. Bitcoin and crypto is something that the government has played zero role in. It is those of us working behind our screens that have given value to these currencies. Now that they appreciate and people get benefited from this economy that they have created without any govt help, why does the government deserve our taxes??
This is a good question. From where I am from, there is a law that income (whatever form) derived in and outside of the country are subject to tax unless it's specifically stated that it's exempt. I'd like to think that the infrastructures built by the State agencies (or private companies they partnered) that helped us set up our own accounts/equipment/machines to trade/mine crypto as reasons for this.
True. Anything that enables me as a citizen to earn because of the so-called stability that the "state" provides, i understand that I owe them taxes. Like another poster said, its part of the social contract
--snip-- It's part of the implicit social contract- to have a stable and peaceful society you need a government and first responders and a healthcare system and a judicial system, etc., and the citizens have to pay for that.
Now, If you look at a huge subset of the crypto-earnings, the value creation has no role played by the state. It is only because people the world over are trading and investing and giving value to random things from memes, NFTs to utility tokens. The way I see it, as global citizens, people have created an economy and have subsequently benefited from it. Some more than others due to downright scams, rugs, zero-regulation, 100X returns, better trades and so on.
When the state has not contributed to any of those returns, they shouldn't be taxable. In case of people using electricity for mining or on procurement of hardware, don't they already pay taxes when they buy these things? Bitcoin is the final good produced, so you cannot tax the final good as well as the equipment.
It is a complex question. I can see how one can be convinced that taxes are owed because of some round-about way of state enabling internet, providing stability and it all ultimately falling under the service category of Software development. Yet, when the state refuses to acknowledge that this "magic internet money" holds any value, then how does it expect taxes on it in the same way as other capital gains? Their is substantive argument on the "No taxes owed" side too.
Even through taxation rules, several activities that contribute towards stable value addition to economy are tax exempt. Like Provident funds, health insurance. There are activities exempt under the category of "not falling under jurisdiction". Those too are additional reasons that why cryptocurrencies (a common international good) should be exempt from taxation, or be taxed very little.