Episode 4: A Backpacker at Sarah's Café, and the Words "No Tax at All"
H2. A News Story, and an Old Memory
Flicking through the news feed this morning, half awake, I came across an article about a German court ruling on crypto assets. The second I read the headline, it took me straight back to something that happened at Sarah's café a few months ago.
It was a Saturday morning, and I was in my usual corner table, coffee in hand. A backpacker at the next table was staring at his laptop screen and muttered, almost to himself,
"Is this actually real? No tax at all if you just hold it for a year?"
Curious, I asked, "Which country's this about?"
He looked up. He was from Germany, and introduced himself as Lukas.
A realistic 8K image, pastel rainbow tones. A wide shot of two people chatting over a laptop at a window table in a cosy Melbourne café. Warm morning sunlight streaming in. 'Kim' engraved in the corner.
H2. The Unfamiliar Word: "Tax Exempt"
H3. Lukas Explains
"Back home, " Lukas said, turning his laptop slightly towards me, "if an individual holds Bit coin for more than a year before selling, there's no tax at all on the gain. Apparently it all comes down to a European Court of Justice ruling."
I couldn't help but ask again. "Completely zero per cent? In Australia, the best you get is a fifty per cent discount."
"Yeah, completely zero. But if you sell before hitting that one-year mark, it just gets taxed at your normal income tax rate instead."
My mind went straight back to the conversation I'd had with David the week before. I'd thought Australia's fifty per cent discount was pretty decent — but a system with no tax at all felt like it was operating on a whole different level.
A realistic 8K image, pastel rainbow tones. A close-up of a finger hovering over a laptop screen showing a German tax-related article, soft screen light falling across a face. 'Kim' engraved in the corner.
H2. Why Would Germany Make That Choice?
Talking it over with Lukas, I found myself curious about what sat behind this system. He wasn't entirely sure himself, but reckoned it was probably meant to encourage individual investors to build up long-term wealth. When I later asked David about it, I got much the same answer.
"Germany's traditionally been fairly relaxed when it comes to individuals disposing of private assets, " David explained. "There's a similar long-term tax exemption concept for things like property or precious metals. Bitcoin's basically just been folded into that same framework."
Listening to that, it struck me that the way a country generally views ownership and assets tends to show up directly in how it taxes them — crypto included.
H2. One Last Coffee, and What Was Left Unsaid
Lukas mentioned he'd be heading back to Germany in a few weeks once his trip wrapped up. Before we parted ways, I asked him one last thing.
"So, do you actually manage to hold for over a year yourself?"
He laughed. "I try to. But every time the market gets shaky, my resolve gets a bit shaky too. Honestly, more often than not, it's my own head that's the problem, not the system."
I couldn't help laughing along with him. No matter how generous a tax system might be, holding onto that benefit really does come down to a person's own patience in the end.
A realistic 8K image, pastel rainbow tones. Two empty coffee cups on a café table, with a backpacker's figure waving goodbye through the window in warm afternoon light. 'Kim' engraved in the corner.
H2. What I Took Away Today
On the walk home, I wrote up the conversation in my diary. Australia's fifty per cent discount, Japan's rate reaching as high as 55%, and now Germany's complete tax exemption.
It struck me all over again just how differently three countries could approach the exact same asset.
And Lukas's last comment stuck with me the whole way home. No matter how good a system is, actually holding onto its benefits comes down to staying steady when the market shakes you around. That, more than anything, was today's real takeaway.
Kim's Rule for Today: "Even the best system is just wishful thinking without the patience to stick with it."
Next episode: Next time, through a conversation with a US investor I met in an online community, we look at America's tax structure — where the rate shifts dramatically depending on how long you've held.
Disclaimer
This content is a creative narrative based on general tax information confirmed as at July 2026, combined with personal experience.
Conversations between characters are reconstructed for storytelling purposes. Germany's tax exemption is based on a European Court of Justice ruling, and whether it applies can vary depending on individual circumstances such as trading frequency and purpose.
Please confirm current details through a local German tax professional. This post does not recommend any specific investment strategy.