A draft resolution that might potentially exempt issuers of digital assets from paying value-added tax was recently adopted by Russian MPs. On income obtained from the sale of such assets, new tax rates have also been established.
According to Reuters, the State Duma (Russia’s federal assembly) passed the draught law after its second and third readings on Tuesday. According to reports, it will exclude from value-added tax both those who issue digital assets and “information systems operators” who help with that process.
A product’s value-added tax is imposed based on how much it has gained in value throughout its manufacture. As of late 2020, nearly no countries levied a VAT tax on the trade of virtual currencies, according to the Inter-American Centre of Tax Administrations.
The current income tax rate for cryptocurrencies in Russia is 20%, which is the same as the rate for traditional, conventional assets. However, the proposed law would lower this tax to merely 13% for Russian businesses and 15% for all others. To become a law, the measure still needs to be approved by the upper house and signed by Vladimir Putin.
In January, the Russian central bank called for a complete ban on cryptocurrencies, citing worries about financial stability and equating them with “pyramid schemes” and threats to monetary policy. The Ministry of Finance swiftly disregarded this tactic, concluding that regulation was a better course of action.
However, a bill that would outlaw the usage of digital assets for payment purposes has already passed its first reading in the state. The central bank seems to think that while bitcoin may be advantageous to international trade, it is not advantageous to citizens.
The former is gaining popularity more and more. A State Duma member asserted in March that Russia would begin accepting Bitcoin for payments for foreign oil.
