The Australian court ruling may lead to a $640 million Bitcoin tax refund.

PANews, May 19 - According to Cointelegraph, a criminal case ruling in Australia could trigger a $640 million Bitcoin tax refund. Victoria State Judge Michael O’Connell ruled in a theft case involving 81.6 Bitcoins (currently valued at about $13 million) that Bitcoin should be considered currency rather than a taxable asset. The ruling directly challenges the position of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) since 2014, which has classified cryptocurrencies as capital gains tax (CGT) assets. Tax lawyer Adrian Cartland pointed out that if the ruling is upheld on appeal, it could bring a total of AUD 1 billion (approximately USD 640 million) in tax refunds for Bitcoin traders. The ATO has not yet confirmed the specific refund amount. Notably, the judge compared Bitcoin to the Australian dollar rather than assets such as stocks or gold, and this legal interpretation may exempt Bitcoin transactions from the current CGT regime. The ATO had previously ruled that any disposal of Bitcoin (including exchanging for fiat, trading for other cryptocurrencies, or purchasing goods) constitutes a CGT taxable event.