In our Expert Takes, the opinion leaders of the Interior and the Interior outside express their opinions, share their experience and give professional advice. Expert Takes cover everything from Blockchain technology and ICO financing to taxation, regulation, and the adoption of cryptocurrency by different sectors of the economy.
Would you like to make an expert contribution, send your ideas and CV to: a.mcqueen@cointelegraph.com
The Netherlands has an established tradition to the vanguard of innovation. And it's following this same path when it comes to Blockchain development. The Netherlands ranks among the top five countries in terms of digital economies.
Amsterdam is named Europe's best technology start-up, the digital city of Groningen hosts the world's largest blockchain hackathon and Arnhem is the place with high concentrations of merchants who accept Bitcoin payments. This allowed the Dutch to experiment with payments using volatile cryptocurrencies with their regulation still a distant concept.
The Dutch Blockchain Action Agenda is the driving force behind the innovative application of this technology in both products and services. Under the label "Dutch Digital Delta", the government, industry and institutions of knowledge, even the Prince Constantijn of the royal family, with more than 20 organizations in the financial, energy and logistics sector, are active in this initiative. and regulations were needed around the developing cryptocurrency, the Blockchain sphere, the agreed Dutch politicians, the cryptocurrency companies and the regulators, who appeared in the House of Representatives on January 24, 2018
] Fintech
A few years ago, the Central Bank of the Netherlands (DNB) created its own cryptocurrency called DNBcoin, for internal circulation only, to better understand how it works. After study, DNB concluded that Blockchain could be "naturally applicable in fintech" for the settlement of complex financial transactions, cross-border payments, securities transactions and the validation of documents and identities. At the hearing, the DNB representative indicated that "DNBCoin is still under study, it is also investigating a combination of cross-border Blockchain payment services where cryptos are converted into fiduciary currencies and crypto cards." Prepaid debit ". The EU has extended its anti-money laundering guidelines to digital currency, recognizing that the Netherlands will adopt it within 18 months. "And reiterated that" crypto-currencies are not legal tender, they will not be banned because they would block the blockchain. innovation. "
The five Dutch banks, which control more than 90% of the Dutch retail banking market, are exploring the possibility of implementing Blockchain technology in their operations, and ABN AMRO and Rabobank have joined the project. SWIFT innovation ING has completed the trials of the Blockchain-powered commercial settlement platform in partnership with Calypso and the R3 consortium, and NIBC has set up an innovation laboratory to boost the market. adoption of technological progress within the bank as well as to conclude strategic partnerships with innovative Blockchain companies.
Willem Vermeend, first official finTech ambassador of the Netherlands says:
"The blockchain will become an essential part of the financial sector, but what is needed is collaboration. There is a lot of creativity in the Netherlands. The problem is that I've talked to 20 parties that do not know what everyone is doing. "
The Dutch government is exploring how to use Blockchain technology to improve the delivery of services to citizens as catalysts for democracy, transparency and participation." Up to now, more than 30 pilots have were concluded using Blockchain technology in various fields such as income tax, identity, logistics, autonomous vehicles, debt counseling, etc.
ICO
During the business intensification phase in the Netherlands, Initial Coin Offering (ICO) introduces a new fundraising method using digital currencies and Blockchain technology. Dutch Financial Markets Authority (AFM) does not regulate IFAs
"As far as innovation and developing markets are concerned, the Netherlands has always taken a pre-accession stance. ardiste. The Dutch landscape includes bottom-up initiatives such as meetings and conferences, Ethereum DEV NL, Skycoin Netherlands, and Bitcoin Wednesday, a thriving startup ecosystem with (pre-) ICO fundraising entities. "The best-performing ICOs of the Bancor, Kik and Monetha caliber live in the Netherlands," said Emanuele Francioni, founder of Web3 Ventures
Merel van Vroonhoven, president of the AFM, warned :
"While the AFM sees the possibilities of Blockchain technology for financial services, it highlights the high risks of ICOs in the current hype. scams and loss of admission combined with hype around ICOs at the time At the last hearing, the AFM emphasized that country offices needed to be regulated internationally and at the level of European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), as they are cross-border nature
Last year, Prince Constantijn joined the group of high-level innovators who advise the Commission (EC) February 1, 20 18, the Observatory and the EU Blockchain Forum have announced that "it is associating with ConsenSys, an Ethereum-based international production studio, for the benefit of the single market of the European Union. (EU). to help integrate and consolidate views, analyzes and visions from the Netherlands into an EU-level forum, "said Nathalie Vandystadt, EC spokesperson, Blockchain Investments and Crypto Investors are asked to consider applicable cross-border tax laws while forming crypto or symbolic investment decisions.
"The Netherlands Finestance Miniest announced that the Dutch government would be in to encrypt cryptocurrencies and "barter goods" that must be reported as a personal income tax asset to the extent that a person is not a person who actively trades cryptocurrencies. As such, cryptocurrencies are taxed as income from savings and investments. This means that you must take its value in euros on 1 January of the year and declare this value. A fictitious return must be calculated on the fair market value of taxpayer savings and investments, reduced by its liabilities, as of January 1. This fictitious yield is taxed at the applicable rates as against 30 percent, "says Martijn de Jong of the Amstone Law Firm.
" Non-resident taxpayers are only taxed on certain savings and certain investments of Netherlands. If it is assumed that the participation of the non-resident taxpayer exceeds the passive management of funds, Dutch taxation in the first box could apply. Currently, there are no clear guidelines on how crypto-currencies are taxed, "he added.
The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Cointelegraph.
Selva Ozelli Esq., CPA is an international tax lawyer and CPA who often writes about matters tax, legal and accounting for TaxNotes, Bloomberg BNA, other publications and OECD.