Heads-up for Brits - the digital tax will apply to crypto exchanges

According to The Telegraph, crypto exchanges won't be exempt from the new digital coming in next year. Here is what they had to say:

Bitcoin exchanges have been dragged into the Treasury’s tech tax after HMRC said they would not qualify for an exemption granted to financial services companies.

The tax office has informed online cryptocurrency exchanges that they are subject to the levy, which is designed to ensure tech firms such as Google, Facebook and Amazon pay more to the Exchequer.

HMRC said crypto assets “are not financial instruments” and do not qualify as commodities or money, meaning online exchanges that sell cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and ethereum are not able to claim an exemption for financial marketplaces.

What this means is there will be a 2% levy on online exchanges. It's likely that this will get passed onto users as fees. If you trade a lot, 2% will be a big chunk of change. The crypto industry is lobbying against it, but it's unlikely they'll get anywhere.