The small Iberian nation is ready to reverse a long-standing tax law that excluded crypto gains on the grounds that they're not legal tender.
To the chagrin of many Golden Visa seekers, Portuguese finance minister Fernando Medina has confirmed that his country can begin onerous cryptocurrency however has not committed to a date.
The move to start out onerous crypto was seconded by Secretary of State for Tax Affairs António Mendonça Mendes on Friday, according to Sapo, a local news outlet.
There is not yet an effective date for the tax to start or a group rate, however. it'll be levied on investment gains made of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), the biggest crypto by market cap. this is able to reverse the law that was established in 2016 that explicit that since crypto isn't monetary system, gains can not be taxed.
Medina same in a operating session in parliament that his rationale for the tax happened by scrutiny Portugal to countries that “already have systems” in place. additionally, Sapo reported that Medina noted that it doesn’t add up for an plus that creates capital gains to not be taxed. He said:
“There cannot be gaps that cause there to be capital gains in relation to the transaction of assets that do not have a tax.”
It appears that Medina won't impose a stifling rate of taxation on crypto gains. He explained that it's vital to make and implement a system that makes taxation “adequate,” however that doesn't “end up reducing revenue to zero, which is contrary, in fact, to the objective that it exists.”
At the Parliamentary operating session, Mendes said that taxation of cryptocurrency is a lot of complicated than most alternative assets as a result of “there is not any universal definition of cryptocurrencies and crypto assets.” He continuing by stating:
“We are evaluating what regulations [fit] this matter [...] so that we can present not a legislative initiative to appear on the front page of a newspaper, but a legislative initiative that truly serves the country in all its dimensions.”
Up thus far, Portugal has been seen as a crypto country that provides a permanent residency visa called the Golden Visa as a result of it grants holders special tax exemptions and a path to citizenship. The Golden Visa program was started as a method of attracting foreign investors. trade observer Anthony Sassano saw the funny side:
( Brian Newar, Cointelegraph, 2022 )