In the last few months, the standoff between the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) and the country’s Ministry of Finance over crypto regulation has become the key regulatory plot for the Russian crypto community to follow. Simultaneously, however, another important legislative development has been unfolding somewhat under the radar: negotiations around tax code amendments that would make cryptocurrencies a taxable asset class. Here’s how it went down so far.
13% for individuals and 20% for companies
As the head of the State Duma’s (the lower chamber of Russian Parliament) financial markets committee, Anatoly Aksakov told local media on April 7 that the amendments to the federal tax code regarding crypto are expected to pass by the end of the summer parliamentary session.
The government-backed legislation includes a requirement to report digital asset transactions if their total exceeds 600,000 rubles, or around $8,000, per year and fines of up to 40% of the individual tax sum in case of non-reporting. The bill passed the first reading in February 2021, after which it got stuck in limbo for almost a year for reasons unknown.
Aksakov only mentioned the recent delay in the discussion around crypto tax amendments, pointing out Duma’s emergent task of crafting “anti-crisis policy” that has shelved the crypto regulation for a while.
The amendments awaited their fate as the broader discussion on the crypto regulatory framework between the CBR and the Finance Ministry ensued. While the central bank champions the idea of a direct ban on both crypto trading and mining, the ministry has offered its own vision to regulate rather than outlaw the industry. It seems that the CBR still stands by its restrictive position and the tax amendments won’t make an exception. A CBR spokesperson claimed that “digital assets are being used, among other things, to evade tax payments.”
Still, the estimates of potential federal tax revenue from crypto range from 10-15 billion…
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