Russian parliament State Duma has said it wants to resolve all legal issues related to cryptocurrency by defining terms such as cryptoasset, mining and so on as legal terms. He stated that the time has come to start paying taxes on the earnings of crypto miners in the country.
According to the Parliamentary Newspaper, the Duma wants cyber enterprises to be more transparent and predictable, and at the same time to increase the income base of the state in the form of taxation.
Alexey Gordeyev, vice-chairman of the State Duma of the Russian parliament, has been appointed head of a working group tasked with drafting proposals on the legal regulation of the circulation of cryptocurrencies in Russia.
In addition to lawmakers, the group includes industry people, regulators, government members and Central Bank representatives.
Cryptocurrency Mining in Russia Controversial
Cryptocurrency mining has become an increasingly controversial issue in Russia. Crypto mining is neither legal nor illegal in Russia and operates in what most analysts call a “grey area”.
Russian provinces complain that miners with high electricity consumption are putting a strain on their electricity grids. The government worked around this issue by having local electricity providers raise electricity rates for certain groups or individuals.
Industrial crypto miners in the country also urged the government to legalize the industry and said they are ready to pay taxes on their income if they legalize the industry.
The deputy speaker of the group stated that the conceptual apparatus should be worked on first and that they formed an expert council to work to create it. The group will meet again in February.
“Taxation Needs to be Addressed in the Cryptocurrency Industry”
Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the Duma’s Financial Markets Committee and tasked with formulating cryptocurrency legislation, said:
Aksakov also stated that taxation has not yet been defined for the sector, and it is an issue that needs to be addressed with the legal amendment.
He said that crypto money offers new opportunities, but it also finds a place for itself in the world of drug trafficking, terrorist operations and corruption, and said that they should be careful about this issue.
Aksakov added that the Russians have invested a total of $65.5 billion in the “unregulated” cryptocurrency market.