The lower house of the Russian legislature, the State Duma, has enacted a bill exempting the sale of digital assets from value-added tax (VAT) in the Russian Federation. According to the state-run news agency RIA Novosti, other services of digital asset exchanges will also be excluded.
The bill set income tax rates of 13% for Russian exchanges on the first 5 million roubles (now about $93,000) of the taxable base annually, 15% on sums over that level, and 15% for foreign exchange operators across the board. The current corporate tax rate is 20%.
The taxation of digital assets under the law is equivalent to securities taxes. The government said that a distinct tax process for digital assets is essential for developing a competitive and productive digital economy.
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Russia has moderated its scepticism towards virtual currencies as the nation faces the burden of Western economic sanctions due to its invasion of Ukraine. The G7 countries have prohibited the purchase of freshly mined or processed Russian gold, and major Russian institutions have been excluded from the SWIFT system. These actions reportedly contributed to Russia’s default on the international debt service on Monday.
Russia’s Sber bank is prepared to create a stablecoin. Olga Skorobogatova, the first deputy head of the Russian Central Bank, revealed in an interview published on Thursday that tests of a digital ruble would begin in April 2023 instead of 2024. In progress is a trial initiative comprising 12 Russian banks.
“I think all self-respecting states will have a national digital currency within three years. […] We should be ready as soon as possible. Plus, this will settle the issue of being blocked from SWIFT, because this integration will make SWIFT unnecessary,” Skorobogatova said.
