How blockchain technology and cryptocurrency can make the goods and services tax system simpler, quicker and safer.
BITCOIN IS THE rage. With an unbelievable appreciation in prices, many people want to invest in this red-hot cryptocurrency, but whether the current valuation is a bubble that will burst is an open question. What is indisputable, however, is the immense versatility of the blockchain technology that is used in bitcoin — and all cryptocurrencies. The goods and services tax (GST) too is the rage, or rather the cause of rage because of the inefficiency of the software implementation. This article explains how a decentralised blockchain application could solve GST problems.
But, first, what is a bitcoin? A bitcoin is a unit of value, like an equity share of a company, that can be owned and transferred. It resides in an account in a ledger, like a dematerialised share in a demat account with the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL). The account number, the public key of the account, is known to all and so anyone can send or deposit demat shares into this account. However, to sell or transfer shares out of this account, the anonymous account holder must use a password, a private key that only he knows, to create and publish an outbound transaction pointing to another account identified by its public key.
This story is from the October 2017 edition of Swarajya Mag.
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This story is from the October 2017 edition of Swarajya Mag.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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