Ramble: Cryptocurrency tax nightmare. What can be done?

Hi fellow Steemers!

Something that really held me back before deciding to sign-up on Steemit is taxes.

I just didn't understand how cryptocurrency would be taxed and was afraid of getting something wrong during tax time.

Looks like I'm not the only one.

In the US apparently crypto tax policy is confusing people, according to an article I read (linked below) and I don't blame them.

It's been years since the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum have become mainstream and many governments around the world are yet to decide what to do about them and how to tax them.

There is a general rule of how to tax cryptocurrency in the US and Australia (as well as many other countries I'm sure), such as treating them as properties, but this just makes the act of using cryptocurrency a nightmare during tax time.

So what can be done? (Keep in mind I'm not an expert in cryptocurrency, tax or politics)

First, I think governments need to understand, or at least have a belief, that cryptocurrency is here to stay. I'm not a time traveller so I don't know if it will be around in 100 years or not, but it is with us now and more people than ever are using cryptocurrency.

Second, governments should allow independent organisations to exist that can oversee cryptocurrency policies. I'm NOT saying governments should be controlling crypto markets, like Federal Banks and Reserve Banks having control over monetary policies. I'm saying the government should work with an independent organisation to set up policies that can benefit everyone. Just like how normally a country has a Chamber of Commerce for the benefit of businesses, a 'Crypto Institution' should exist to assist the Government and users. I think Japan's doing something like this and I expect this will make using crypto safer and easier.

Lastly, these institutions from around the world should work together in unison. I think cryptocurrency is still in its infancy and these institutions working together can speed up the process of developing useful and helpful policies.

I'll be honest with you, my suggestions above are very unrealistic and have not been thought through that well. But until I am able to better understand tax policies on cryptocurrency, I think I'll continue to 'hodl', rather than spending.

Do you have better ideas? Let me know. Maybe I'll come back to this topic at a later date with updates.

Story source: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/610859/americas-cryptocurrency-tax-policy-is-confusing-everyone/