The Russian government has made a statement to the effect that Bitcoin is a currency, and as such, any transactions should be reported and taxed. Seeing Bitcoin sales taxed means it has achieved maturity and is taken seriously by governments, and hence, tax collectors.
True, Russia is still an authoritarian regime where if they could tax the air, they probably would. But you can say similar things about the USA and other Western Countries where tax after tax is being piled on the citizens. Of interest is that it doesn't seem to name Bitcoin specifically, but rather covers digital currencies in general. A smart move for a government, tax the whole ecosphere instead of going specifically after one piece of it. Here is an excerpt from the Russian government's statement:
"Consequently, the transactions of purchase and sale of cryptocurrency (virtual currency) between residents and non-residents, with the utilization of currency valuables and (or) currency of the Russian Federation, are, in fact, currency transactions."
We've already seen confiscations of Bitcoin in the US, alongside multiple hacks and their associated theft of the contents in people's wallets. Taxation will legalize a less extreme form of confiscation, one that may seem palatable in general, but at the same time defeats one of the purposes of a cryptocurrency, which resides in its anonymity.
I think Bitcoin needs a thorough upgrade from a security perspective, and new cryptocurrencies, such as Steem, need to take Bitcoin history into account and avoid some of the weaknesses that have been exposed. Regardless of your position on taxation, and I know mine is very Libertarian and I want less of it, it is a milestone from the Bitcoin perspective in that it is now officially considered a foreign currency by at least one major government! It has come of age...
The complete article can be found here: Russian Bitcoin Transaction Tax
