Ukraine: Parliamentary Committee Backs 5% Crypto Tax Bill

An influential Ukrainian parliamentary committee has thrown its support behind a draft proposal that could result in the introduction of a flat 5% tax rate on cryptocurrency transactions.

Per media outlet InternetUA, the Verkhovna Rada’s IT and communication committee has decided to lend its support to a private members’ bill that, if passed into law, would also see the profits of companies doing business in cryptocurrencies taxed at a base rate of 18% from 2024. The committee rejected a rival draft bill that proposed freezing crypto taxes until the end of 2029.

The same media outlet quotes MP Olexander Danchenko, one of the bill’s co-authors, as saying that the bill was inspired by Estonian legislation, which he said “is considered to be one of the best [crypto laws] in the world.” Danchenko and his fellow authors were also influenced by European Central Bank rulings, and the work of regulators in the United States and Japan.

Danchenko also stated, “We believe that 5% is a stimulating level of tax, and would enable the [cryptocurrency] industry to develop.”

The committee says it will now need to convince the country’s central bank and the cabinet that the bill is worth pursuing, with neither party yet prepared to clarify its stance on the bill.

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Weekly LocalBitcoins, a peer-to-peer bitcoin marketplace, volume (in bitcoin) in Ukraine:

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Meanwhile, Russia’s Gazprombank has announced that its Swiss banking arm will begin offering “crypto asset” trading services as of mid-2019.

In a statement, the company confirmed it is working on the project with Metaco, who will provide a blockchain-powered operating platform, as well as Avaloq, a banking solutions provider.

Gazprombank is a subsidy of Gazprom, one of the world’s largest gas companies. Another Russian bank, Sberbank, dubbed the “eternal leader of the blockchain conversation” by the country’s media, has previously unveiled similar plans, stating that it will open a crypto exchange in Switzerland, where it operates the Sberbank (Switzerland) AG subsidy.