– The Russian Finance Ministry has been attempting to regulate the crypto mining sector for almost a year.
– The ministry has been thwarted by the Central Bank and law enforcement agencies, who are concerned about money laundering.
– The finance ministry is now attempting to levy a tax on profits from crypto mining, using existing provisions in the nation’s tax code.
The Russian Finance Ministry has been attempting to regulate the crypto mining sector for almost a year, in a bid to give industrial players the green light to use surplus energy and associated gas to mine tokens. However, their efforts have been thwarted by the Central Bank and law enforcement agencies, who have raised concerns about money laundering and the potential for crypto to „enter“ the Russian economy.
In order to surmount this impasse, the finance ministry has now launched a fresh attempt to tax crypto miners. This move is being proposed under existing provisions in the nation’s tax code, and the ministry has stated that it „considers it fair to levy a tax on profits received from the mining of cryptoassets“. The exact form of taxation is yet to be determined, and will be contained within the framework of a long-awaited draft law on crypto mining.
The draft law is currently being discussed, and would require Central Bank and parliamentary approval in order to pass. In the meantime, mining remains neither legal nor illegal in Russia; however, as it is not classified as an entrepreneurial activity, it cannot currently be taxed.
Should the finance ministry be successful in their attempt to tax crypto miners, it could provide a much-needed boost to the sector. However, there is still much uncertainty surrounding the legal status of crypto mining, and many questions remain unanswered. It is likely that the ministry will continue to face challenges from the Central Bank and law enforcement agencies, and it remains to be seen whether their latest attempt will be successful.