On July 20, 2019 the German tax court for the federal states of
Berlin and Brandenburg published the first decision of a German tax
court on the qualification of "bitcoins" in a provisional
legal protection procedure.
The court confirmed that a bitcoin qualifies as an
"asset" for German taxation and (tax) accounting
purposes.
At the same time, the court concluded that a bitcoin is not a
security or financial asset because it does not represent a claim
for (re)payment of money.
The capital gain derived by a private individual is taxable if
realized within one year after the acquisition (that is, a
disposition after one year would not be taxable).
The German Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
applicable to intangible assets apply to bitcoins if held as a
business asset.
