Ukrainian MP Proposes Tax-free Crypto Trading

A leading Ukrainian MP has put forward a private member’s bill that – if passed – could allow tax-free cryptocurrency trading in the country with population of 42 millions until the end of 2029.

Yuriy Derevyanko, one of the leaders of minority party RNS, told a parliamentary committee that existing proposals for taxes on cryptocurrency trading earnings were “repressive,” and could force skilled IT professionals out of the country.

As previously reported on Cryptonews.com, a rival private member’s bill – lodged by Oleksiy Mushak, an MP from the ruling Petro Poroshenko Bloc Solidarity Party – is already slated for debate in Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada. Mushak’s bill proposes flat tax rates of 5% for individuals and 18% for corporations.

The country’s Deputy Finance Minister Serhiy Verlanov, meanwhile, has called for the government to go further – requiring crypto traders to declare their earnings in income tax filings, payable at rates of some 19.5%.

However, per Ukrainian media outlet Kurs, Derevyanko says he hopes his bill, which will likely be debated in the Rada this month, will provide an alternative. Derevyanko’s proposal is to suspend all taxes on cryptocurrency-related businesses and traders until 2030 – after which progressive tax regulations could be eased in.

Kurs quotes Derevyanko as saying that tax laws could lead to industry regulations – which would threaten the health of Ukraine’s growing crypto sector.

The MP stated, “Even the smallest percentages proposed by [Mushak], 5%, would create all the conditions required for financial and legal regulators to be able to interfere in [the cryptocurrency sector]. This market is still very fragile. We must protect the enterprising innovators who are bringing technology to our economy.”
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