Due to tax innovations, Portugal may become a less attractive country for crypto enthusiasts.
According to Sapo, Finance Minister Fernando Medina voiced a proposal to introduce taxation of cryptocurrency income during the Assembly of the Republic hearings. The proposal was supported by António Mendonça Mendes, Secretary of State for Tax Affairs.
Fernando Medina specified that the bill should be adequate in order not to scare away local crypto investors and, at the same time, to introduce a tax on gains to crypto capital.
Earlier, in 2016, Portugal passed tax legislation stating that gains from cryptocurrencies cannot be taxed because they are not legal tender. There was a heated discussion on Twitter about the session’s results. The general idea was that introducing taxation on cryptocurrency profits would lead to a loss of interest for crypto enthusiasts in the country.
It is not yet known when exactly Portugal will start taxing cryptocurrency income and what the content of the bill will be. Meanwhile, some countries are already making steps in the same direction; for example, Japanese authorities have taxed staking and crypto lending.
