Russian Duma passes bill to remove VAT, lower income tax rates on digital asset

[Markuri33]

Russia is turning to blockchain technology in an effort to counteract the economic isolation brought on by the sanctions imposed due to its invasion of Ukraine.The State Duma, the lower house of the Russian legislature, has passed a bill on the taxation of digital assets that exempts their sale from value-added tax (VAT) in the Russian Federation. Some other services of digital asset exchanges will also be exempted, according to state-run news service RIA Novosti.

In addition, the bill established income tax rates of 13% for Russian exchanges on the first 5 million rubles (currently about U$93,000) of the taxable base annually, 15% on amounts above that limit and 15% across the board for foreign exchange operators. The current tax rate for companies is 20%.

The taxation of digital assets under the bill is analogous to securities taxes, RIA Novosti reports. The government noted in the bill that a separate tax procedure for digital assets is key to the creation of an effective and competitive digital economy.more