French Parliament Rejects Crypto-Friendly Tax Changes

In France, several proposed changes to the laws governing the tax treatment of cryptocurrencies were rejected in the parliament on December 17th. The proposals would have made the tax treatment for transacting in cryptocurrencies more advantageous.

Four different amendments relating to cryptocurrencies were proposed and rejected by the Chairman of the Finance Committee, an elected deputy tasked with approving the new budget.

One proposed amendment would have seen cryptocurrency transactions treated the same as other stock market transactions, which is more favorable from a tax perspective.

Currently, the tax treatment of capital gains on cryptocurrency sales varies depending on whether the trader does so on a "Habitual" or "Occasional" basis.

Another rejected amendment would have changed when the sale of a cryptocurrency is captured for tax purposes.

The change would have meant that transactions done on cryptocurrency exchanges would not be subject to capital gains taxes.

Two other amendments would have increased the annual tax exemption for capital gains from cryptocurrencies from 305€ to either 3000€ or 5000€.

The final amendment would have seen capital gains on cryptocurrencies taxed on the same basis and under the same conditions as permitted under the current system for securities, like equities.

Cryptocurrency enthusiasts in France saw the rejection of all four amendments as a setback.

The Macron government has previously shown signs of taking an open-minded attitude towards cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.