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…Will not get taxed as income but instead as capital gains. Americans are familiar with this system, it’s how short-term and long-term capital gains work in th

• ben_bai 5y ago
  German income tax rate is progressive, and maxes out at 45%. While capital gain tax is a flat 25%
  • pavlov 5y ago
    Yes, it’s the same in USA. (The federal rates are lower, but state and local taxes can push your tax bill up to European levels, especially if you own property in a desirable area.)
    • mbeex 5y ago
      Point here is, crypto - as well as Gold and Real Estate - are considered a special case of capital. Contrary to stock they have - different - 'speculation periods' (Spekulationsfristen). If they are held beyond this period, no tax is collected for gains of the sale. This was true for stock too before 2009 (unfortunately).
  • edmundsauto 5y ago
    I think you're probably aware of this, but for non Americans - this is the same as in the US. Except I think the capital gains rate (holdings > 1 year) is 15%? (America also has progressive income tax that caps out around 40% I believe... any gains from holdings sold < 1 year are "short term capital gains" which is at standard income tax rates)
  • deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  • rcMgD2BwE72F 5y ago
    If you're poor and only have your work to sell, you'll get taxed progressively until you're rich enough to save money and invest. Meaning your effective tax rate increases as you get reasonably rich (from work) and then when you're really rich, the rate slowly decreases down to the level of capital gain tax. I don't understand why this is accepted. I find this revolting as I'm in the position to benefit (my tax rate going below that of people far less wealthy than me).
    • chii 5y ago
      capital gains is income from investing, which is how new productivity gets funded (via buying new plant and equipment, etc). Encouraging investments is not a bad idea. Of course, it's possible to be too pro-investment, but a 25% flat rate on investment based income is not too low, but not too high. It's slightly lower than wage income as an incentive for people to save and invest.
      • rcMgD2BwE72F 5y ago
        >capital gains is income from investing, which is how new productivity gets funded (via buying new plant and equipment, etc). How does that justify taxing work more than capital? For people with high salary, any extra income (from work) is taxed almost 2x that of capital gains. Also, only a small % of investment actually goes funding productivity. Most is just rich people's money changing hands, base only on speculation with zero regards for impact on businesses/society. >a 25% flat rate on investment based income is not too low, but not too high Do you have a study on this, or is this your opinion?
        • chii 5y ago
          > a study on this, or is this your opinion? it is an opinion. The policy setting is not a fact based research, but ideologically based opinion. i would argue that any research is basically paid opinion pieces to try and convince someone on the fence. > How does that justify taxing work more than capital? the justification is in my comment above - it is taxed less than wage income to encourage people to spend their money investing, rather than spending it in consumption.
  • papito 5y ago
    With all the wining about European socialism, this is what I pay with combined NYC, state, and federal taxes, plus all the deductions for the safety net that the government should provide anyway.
• asldjajlfkj 5y ago
  No. A "Privatverkauf" is tax free after one year. If you sell before that it is taxed as income. Crypto is never taxed as capital gains in Germany.
  • pavlov 5y ago
    Thanks for the clarification! I edited my reply. I have to say, this blows the mind for Americans who assume European countries are tax hells. The IRS will tax everything, sometimes before you’ve sold it: I had to pay mark-to-market capital gains tax on unrealized gains in a foreign mutual fund I’d bought before moving to USA.
    • _zoltan_ 5y ago
      Then you'll be surprised to learn that Switzerland doesn't even have capital gains tax on any security (crypto, ETF...).
      • mbeex 5y ago
        But property tax AFAIK (contrary to Germany)
        • _zoltan_ 5y ago
          That depends on which Kanton you are in. In Kanton Zürich this doesn't exist, but you get a wealth tax.
      • pavlov 5y ago
        Not really surprised about that. Switzerland, Luxembourg - they're well known as attractive tax regimes. The surprising aspect is that there's so many options in the middle. Even in the EU, every country has a unique combination of tax features, and knowledge about one or two of them doesn't translate. Portugal is unlike Italy is unlike France is unlike Germany is unlike Sweden is unlike Finland. My humble opinion is that some of this should be harmonized on the EU level. There's no reason to leave so many tax loopholes for those able to exploit them, other than each country's wealthy lobbying to maintain their own peculiar benefits.
• recursive 5y ago
  American here. Did not know short-term and long-term were different things.