Three billion. One and a half from the amnesty. The rest between capital gains, years to be regularized for the possession and sale of cryptocurrencies. This is what could arrive in the treasury coffers with the amnesty on digital assets. “Crypto-assets”, as they are defined in the maneuver. Hat under which everything concerning the world of digital assets ends up, from cryptocurrencies to NFTs, or digital collectibles.
Cryptocurrencies in Italy
Three billion is an optimistic scenario. Perhaps the best possible. But using the conditional is a must. Also because in the world of cryptocurrencies there are no certain data. Everything is entrusted to reports. Among the most authoritative is that of Chainanalysis which estimates in 90 billion the value of the “crypto-assets” held in Italy as at 31 December 2021. For revenues referring only to the previous year equal to 2.7 billion.
Assets on which the government is now trying to intervene. Introducing an amnesty for those who own cryptocurrencies. Also indicating a threshold beyond which a request can be made: 2,000 euros. Threshold probably decided to open the practice also to small and very small holders of digital assets.
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The law makes it possible to remedy the undeclared possession of cryptocurrencies as at 31 December 2021 by paying a fine of 0.5% of the value possessed for each year that one wishes to declare. But it will be possible to regularize the income obtained from the “holding” of cryptocurrencies by paying a substitute tax equal to 3.5% of what has been realised.
It’s not an easy subject. And right now there are more open questions than answers. By income, the legislator means everything that is identified as capital increase. And a few million Italians could have obtained it. Those 90 billion of digital assets are a snapshot of their value at the end of 2021. A value that in all likelihood has gone from zero to one hundred over the years, driven by the increase in the price of cryptocurrencies (and now understandably reduced given the collapse of the sector that has lost almost 50% of its value since then).
The government’s idea is to try to raise cash by bringing out a segment of the country’s economy that has been living without rules or taxes for over a decade. An ambitious goal, but by no means simple. Because it starts from an assumption: to induce cryptocurrency holders to reveal themselves. But so far they have not violated any laws. The possession of crypto-assets is not regulated.
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Capaccioli: “It’s hard to say who it will impact and if it will be successful”
“The positive aspect is that we are starting to talk about this sector. But read this way, it doesn’t seem to me a very attractive law for crypto-asset holders. It’s hard to say who it will impact. Even more difficult to say if it will be successful ”, he explains to Stefano Capaccioli, chartered accountant, of counsel of 42 Law firm, and cryptocurrency expert. “The world of crypto-assets is not easy to understand. Normarlo is even less so,” he adds. Capaccioli also tried to estimate how much the exchequer could get from the amnesty. His forecast, sent to the Senate as a written statement requested, amounted to 5 billion.
But Italy is not moving alone. Last October, the European Union approved a resolution on the impact of new technologies on taxation. The text underlines the need to tax crypto-assets in a “fair, transparent and effective” manner. In addition to giving the sector a regulatory framework that protects those who invest in the sector, which in 2022 recorded financial crashes capable of sending billions up in smoke. And sink investor confidence.
It is not a secondary aspect. Compared to the value of a year ago, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are now worth about half. And few today are betting on a new golden age for the sector. At least as an investment asset.