Russia Looking At $13 Billion In Tax Collections If Crypto Bill Is Approved

Russia is making a headway in finalizing its crypto bill, with the Ministry of Finance seeking the assistance of the public in improving the regulation of digital assets by middle of next month.

A prior notice the ministry calls “On Digital Currency,” will expound on a public consultation to: 

1 – Set regulatory rules for the cryptocurrency bill

2 – Pique interest from businesses, corporations, citizens and legal entities 

The second notice states that the consultation may entail another one for the necessary amendments of certain federal laws in connection to digital currency. 

Crypto Bill Set For Release

As of writing, the draft of the bill is not yet made public. Still, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov expects to complete the public consultations for the crypto bill by March 18.

A ministry spokesperson said that it may be released after a couple of weeks. “The public discussion procedure takes place in several stages. We are currently at the initial stage of informing about the beginning of development.”

The Bank of Russia had previously opposed cryptocurrency trading and mining because of the alleged risks it posed to financial stability.

But with the finance minister firm with its implementation, Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on the public to find a consensus on the matter.

BTC total market cap at $761.15 billion in the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com

Related Reading | A Constant Rise in Russian’ Inactive Bitcoin Wallets For The Last 18 Months 

Russia Can’t Outlaw Bitcoin

Banning crypto is as impossible as banning the internet in Russia, said Siluanov at the ministry’s briefing with the central bank, last Wednesday.

Rather than prohibiting it, Siluanov suggested regulating the already existing digital token industry so that the government can monitor the market while enabling it to contribute to the country’s capital growth.

Russia has a lot to gain from crypto taxes from the realized gains on the amount of deposited and withdrawn fiat assets.

Analysts project that the country may collect more than $13 billion from tax payments in the crypto market, ​​as stated in a government document.

Big Money In Crypto

Economists also elaborated that taxes in the crypto industry can be collected in two forms: as levies on legal entities like exchanges and service providers, or as taxes on investments. 

They are setting sights on receiving from 90 to 180 billion rubles a year from legal and licensed crypto trading platforms alone, and around 606 billion rubles from income taxes.

Currently, there is a rough estimate that Russians own over 16.5 trillion rubles in cryptocurrency or around $215 billion, according to a Bloomberg report.

Russia holds about 12% of the global crypto economy, but its potential to grow with the legalization of the industry is endless.

Related Reading | Russian Finance Minister Supporting Crypto Regulations Rather Than Complete Ban

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