Curated by Andrea Medri, Founder & CFO of The Rock Trading
Italian politics ignores cryptocurrencies. If there is a theme that is almost completely absent in the electoral programs of the upcoming policies of September 25, it is the universe of cryptocurrencies: a lack that risks turning into a missed opportunity.
Because Italians are getting closer and closer to crypto investments in recent years: according to an average that emerges by analyzing the data of a series of studies (Consob 2% in 2021, Prx 8% and Finder 21%) we can reasonably assume that more than 10% of Italians have invested a part of their assets in bitcoin and its surroundings.
To date, there is no law that clearly delineates the tax treatment of crypto. The only indication on how to pay taxes for those who hold bitcoins has so far been the well-known resolution of the Revenue Agency in 2016 which equates cryptocurrencies with foreign currencies (in contrast with the Bank of Italy which does not consider them as such) and therefore , in the event of a capital gain generated by trading, provides for a tax rate of 26% on it for amounts exceeding the equivalent of € 51,645.69, if held for at least 7 days.
But a tax resolution is not law and this regulatory hole creates confusion. In addition to depriving the state of additional tax revenue. And this is the missed opportunity: a clear law on bitcoin taxation would bring liquidity into the state coffers and, if structured well, could attract investments like every time the tax situation is clear and transparent.
What candidates say about bitcoin
To talk about digital finance in programs of upcoming policies they are only the 5 Star Movement and the League. There Lega proposes “the introduction of a regulatory framework that provides for a specific definition and classification of cryptocurrencies and tokens, in order to develop their use and considering the need to establish rules for the infrastructures and actors of this new world of digital finance “. Objective, explained on page 29 of the League’s program: “identify measures for the tax treatment of virtual currencies, overcoming the mere equation of cryptocurrencies with traditional currencies, in order to give certainty to all operators in the sector”.
As for the 5 Star Movement, on p. 11 of the 13 overall of the streamlined party program led by Giuseppe Conte, there is the proposal “To define an industrial plan based on strategic technologies for the future”among which includes “Digital manufacturing, fintech, digital currencies, artificial intelligence and robotics, agrifoodtech, aerospace, web3, semiconductors, life sciences, digital content creation, metaverse, nanotechnology and quantum computing”.
What it would take to make the crypto world transparent
In all likelihood, both sides will bring a bill on the taxation of cryptocurrencies to the next financial in November. The 5 Star Movement would not be new, having already presented a bill signed by Davide Zanichelli.
And this is the way forward: if on the one hand a regulation – which classifies crypto in one category or another – may be superfluous, a modern law that does not aim to penalize holders of bitcoin, but only to make them emerge. , with proper taxation, it can only bring benefits. Italian platforms, or platforms with a permanent establishment in Italy, are already required, from May 2022, to register in the OAM Register of financial intermediaries. On the fiscal front, two paths should be pursued.
Crystallize the previous one and establish a tax rate on the capital gain
That is to say crystallize the previous e establish a rate for the present and for the future.
The first point is the most difficult to deal with, because who already owns assets in bitcoin it may fail to reconstruct an adequate picture how it was created and how this heritage has been enhanced over time. To find one solutionin the current legal framework, we can refer to how gold is treated.
In this case, a fair proposal could consist in establishing a flat rate taxation (for example the same rate that applies to financial income, equal to 26%, on a fixed portion of the assets held in bitcoin at the end of the last fiscal year). In this way the taxpayer is armored and protects himself from a legal point of view, paying a non-penalizing taxation. Starting from January 1, 2023, taxation could therefore be normalized to 26% on the capital gain, with the book value being obtained immediately thanks to an operation that in the meantime has become traceable.