South Africa Defends New Crypto Tax Rules Amid Industry Worries

South Africa should be celebrating that it is among the leading nations working to issue digital currency tax laws.

The country has defined the tokens for tax purposes, but the definition could ensnare other electronic stores of wealth—a claim the treasury has had to rebuff.

Amid fears the law could net loyalty schemes, programs for rewarding frequent customers that usually involve the collection of digital points, South Africa’s National Treasury told Bloomberg Tax that there can’t be any confusion between cryptocurrency and loyalty schemes since they both have different features.

Adding a definition of cryptocurrency in the value-added tax and ...