The digital assets market has grown exponentially over the past decade. So naturally, it would only be a matter of time before the revenue collection agencies of the world started to take notice. That time has come. For residents of countries like the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America), the push to tax gains made on digital assets investments and trading are picking up steam.
With regulated exchanges having no choice but to surrender their customer’s trading information to the tax man when required to do so, the days of tax free profits from crypto are coming to an end. Further, it is almost certain that the trend will spread to other jurisdictions in due course.
As bleak as the situation may seem (for individuals who wish to pay the piper as little as possible), there are a few options that don’t involve a move to unstable territories (where the governments have bigger fish to fry), or quitting cryptocurrency altogether. Listed below, are four jurisdictions – in no specific order- that have crypto friendly tax regimes.
Portugal
The best explanation of the Portuguese government’s stance on the taxation of profits an individual gains through trading digital assets came from, Luis Leon, a tax partner at Deloitte Portugal.
“Portugal does not tax the increase of value of any currency nor the gain on the sale of any currency. Obviously, any currency losses may not be offset against any gains either,” as Leon said.
However, it should be noted that the aforementioned policy only applies to personal trading and investing. If the gains were made through a registered company, then the usual taxation of corporate profits remains applicable.
Bermuda
In the small Caribbean state, Bitcoin – presumably all cryptocurrencies as well – are not considered legal tender and therefore enjoy tax free status. Interestingly, Bermuda recently became the first nation to accept tax payments in the form of cryptographically secured currency. Specifically USDC stable coin.
In terms of blockchain and cryptocurrency related businesses operations, Bermuda is working on making itself an attractive destination. However, the regulatory authority is also putting strict KYC and AML policies.
Malaysia
At this point in time, Malaysia may well be one of the best options for an individual looking to completely bypass any taxation of their crypto gains. This is due – firstly- to the country not recognising Bitcoin and other digital assets as legal tender. Secondly, Malaysia’s current tax regimes do not tax cryptocurrency trades. This applies for both crypto-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat. However, it would be wise for one to remain mindful of the possibility of changes as the digital assets market grows.
Belarus
This country could also be one of the best options. This is because in Belarus, all things crypto are considered legal and not subject to tax of any kind. This means mining, trading and even ICO’s can benefit from the country’s leniency towards the cryptocurrency market.
However, the somewhat free for all nature of the Belarusian regulatory landscape is due to change some time in the year 2023.
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