Someone in Germany made $3.6M in crypto profits but refused to pay taxes, using interesting arguments - Federal Fiscal Court ruled against him

The investor called the cryptocurrencies "data set" instead of money and refused to pay taxes. He called taxes on his profits "fool's tax" apparently only people who willingly pay these taxes are actually charged while other simply avoid it. Pretty bold move if you ask me. I would love to meet him and ask him if he did that just for fun or if he really thought this is going to work for him.

Crypto gains stay tax free in Germany if you hold them longer than 1 year, but not in this case. The plaintiff had acquired, exchanged and sold various crypto assets. The text in the article reads like he did leveraged trading and buying options and futures. In his income tax return for 2017, the plaintiff declared a crypto profit* of around €3.4 million.

The Cologne Fiscal Court had not followed the arguments of the plaintiff and had dismissed the suit in 2021. Lawsuits were also unsuccessful before the fiscal courts of Baden-Württemberg and Berlin-Brandenburg. The Nuremberg Fiscal Court, on the other hand, had expressed doubts as to whether profits from speculative transactions with virtual currencies were subject to income tax. The higher court has now ruled against him.

[Source in German / translated page]

*If you're wondering what profits are: it's when you sell crypto for a higher price. It's still a myth to me, but maybe this story is legit?