Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Crypto Traders Protest as Poland Wants Tax From All Transactions

Published 04/09/2018, 12:07 PM
Updated 04/09/2018, 01:02 PM
© Reuters.  Crypto Traders Protest as Poland Wants Tax From All Transactions

© Reuters. Crypto Traders Protest as Poland Wants Tax From All Transactions

(Bloomberg) -- Digital currency traders in Poland are protesting against a government decision to levy a tax on all cryptocurrency transactions, regardless of whether the taxpayer made a profit.

The Finance Ministry published an interpretation of the country’s tax code last week, stating that income from transactions on cryptocurrencies is subject to income tax rules, with two tax brackets of 18 percent and 32 percent. More painful for traders, the tax authority also said that the act of selling or purchasing digital currencies should be considered a transfer of property rights, which is subject to a 1 percent levy on the value of the transaction, in line with rules governing civil law agreements.

Cryptocurrency traders organized an online petition saying that the rules are set to wipe out their community and could set the country back in terms of developing the blockchain technology underpinning digital currencies. The ministry’s stance was published weeks before the deadline for Poles to file their annual personal income statements on April 30.

Signed by more than 2,200 people, the petition says that the new regulations will mean that capital invested in cryptocurrencies may be taxed “hundreds or even a thousand times.” While Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has called digital currencies “Ponzi schemes” in an effort to turn Poles away from such investments, the government and state-owned lenders generally support blockchain as a source of innovation in the banking industry.

“We are demanding the release of the blockchain technology market and the abolition of all taxes related to this industry,” according to the petition. “We want to be active creators of this technology, not just its passive recipients in the coming years, from centralized Polish institutions or foreign entities.”

The Finance Ministry said on its website on Monday that it’s working on a “more convenient” method of taxation for cryptocurrencies, while repeating that last week’s statement showed the binding interpretations of the current regulations.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.