Time to ‘Solve All Crypto Problems’ According to Russian Parliament

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Source: Adobe / fabioderby

Russia’s parliament, the State Duma, has said it wants to “resolve all legal issues related to cryptocurrency” – by defining legal terms for crypto-assets, mining, etc. And the chief architect of crypto legislation in the country noted that it is time for miners to start paying taxes on their income.

According to the Parliamentary Gazette, legal clarity of terminology will be a priority for the Duma, which wants cyber businesses to be more transparent and predictable while “increasing the state’s revenue base” – in the form of taxation.

As reported, the Deputy Speaker of the State Duma, the Russian Parliament, Alexey Gordeyev, has been appointed to head a working group to prepare proposals “on the legislative regulation of the circulation of cryptocurrencies in Russia”.

In addition to MPs, the group also includes industry figures, regulators, members of government and representatives of the Central Bank.

Just as has been the case in much of the wider CIS zone for much of the winter months, crypto mining has become an increasingly controversial issue in Russia. Mining is neither legal nor illegal in Russia, and operates in what most analysts (and the government) call a legal “gray area”.

Russian provinces have complained that miners consuming electricity at subsidized home use prices are straining their power grids, and the state has responded by creating a workaround that allows providers to local electricity to increase electricity rates for certain groups or individuals – that is, those who identify themselves as crypto miners.

Industrial miners across the country have also called on the government to legalize the industry – and say they are prepared to pay taxes on their earnings if that means they will finally be recognized as bona fide businesses.

The vice president said the group “must first work on the conceptual apparatus” and has created an “expert council” which will work on its creation. The group will meet again in February.

Meanwhile, Anatoly Aksakov, the head of the Duma’s financial markets committee and the man accused of negotiating deals and formulating crypto legislation, said:

“Mining usually creates problems. I received calls from [local government authorities] in Irkutsk. They complain that miners pay for the electricity they use on the same basis as ordinary citizens, despite being engaged in entrepreneurial activity.

He also said that “taxation has yet to be defined” for the sector – something that needed to be tackled with a legal change.

He warned that while crypto presented a range of new opportunities, it had also found a niche in the world of drug trafficking, terrorist operations and corruption.

Aksakov said he believes the Russians have invested a cumulative total of around $ 65.5 billion in what he called the “unregulated” crypto market. Pay higher electricity rates, says government

– No progress on Russian crypto law until February 2022 at the earliest, says Duma chief – Crypto regulatory trends in 2022: focus on DeFi, Stablecoins, NFT, and more

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