Japanese Finance Minister expresses views on cryptocurrency trading taxation

Taro Aso, Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister of Japan, has made several remarks about cryptocurrency regulations and taxation at the Upper House budget committee meeting yesterday (25 June 2018).

The high-ranking official thinks that cryptocurrency trading can be taxed at the flat rate. According to some media outlets, the rate must not vary from fiat and forex trades which is 20%. Note that the first-hand information comes in Japanese and there can be errors in translation.

Presently, the Japanese cryptocurrency taxation is viewed as too heavy by the local community, which is evidenced by a Change.org petition signed by over 11 thousand people. In some cases, it goes as high as to 55%.

Contrary to the legislation of many other states, Bitcoin payments are absolutely legal in Japan which opens up interesting business possibilities unavailable elsewhere. Despite the liberal environment, the economic space of Japan will not be the same after the recent Coincheck hack. It made the law enforcement tighten rules for other exchanges and even form a dedicated team of experts.

Image: EPA-EFE