Russia’s State Duma Advances Crypto Tax Reform Bill in First Reading

Russia’s State Duma passed a government-submitted cryptocurrency tax reform bill in its first reading, aiming to clarify tax rules for digital assets. According to ChainCatcher, the draft would calculate the taxable base for crypto transactions as the positive difference between income and costs, and allow investors to offset profits and losses within the same tax period across digital currencies and foreign digital rights assets. The bill would also require brokers and trustees involved in cryptocurrency and foreign digital rights transactions to withhold and remit personal income tax, and to keep related transaction records for at least five years. At the corporate level, the draft would include foreign trade income and expenses involving digital assets in the corporate income tax base, excluding cryptocurrency mining. It would also treat foreign digital rights assets as cryptocurrency for tax purposes. Separately, the State Duma’s Budget and Taxes Committee recommended further revisions for the second reading that would require licensed crypto exchange platforms to act as tax agents by withholding personal income tax directly when users buy or sell cryptocurrency.