Poland Rolls Out New Bill Clarifying Crypto Taxation
When it comes to taxation, in most cases there is a cloud of uncertainty surrounding cryptocurrency. Certainly, legislation is swiftly evolving to make sure crypto traders don’t sneak off without paying their taxes. Now over to Poland, lawmakers are finally unveiling long anticipated clarifications to the existent tax policy. Such clarifications have come out in a bill.
The previous cryptocurrency taxation policy met with resounding rejection from the cryptocurrency community. Thus, legislators went back to restructure the current tax policy, hence the new bill. The Polish Council of Ministers will meet to review it come the third quarter of 2018. The new bill aims at making taxation laws more relatable and simplified for the everyday crypto trader in Poland.
Modifications to the Existent Taxation Laws
The new bill classifies cryptocurrency (relating to the Act on Counteracting Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing) as a digital variant of money. In detail, here, virtual currencies are stratified into two categories: centralized virtual currency and cryptocurrency. Such virtual currencies have the legal impetus to transact payment, acting as a legitimate medium of exchange as well as in e-commerce. Pertaining to this new bill, crypto-to-crypto transactions will be free of taxes in Poland. Such exempted crypto-to-crypto transactions cut across those carried out individually or on the stock exchange.
Furthermore, cryptocurrency miners who work on their own wouldn’t have to pay taxes, as the new bill absolves them of such monetary obligations. On the other hand, miners who work for other individuals or entities wouldn’t enjoy said tax haven in Poland. They will remit taxes on their crypto dealings to the government.
The taxation system in operation in Poland stipulates that those who earn an annual income of 85,500 zloty ($23,000 USD) and below will pay 18% of such income as taxes. In addition to this, those who earn an annual income above $23,000 pay 32% of their annual income as tax.
Poland Waging Hostilities on Crypto
Rather controversially, Poland is waging a silent war on cryptocurrency this year in form of coordinated anti-cryptocurrency campaigns. The Central Bank of Poland dispersed about $27,000 to massively generate anti-crypto content on YouTube and in the local press. Poland’s Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) also engaged in similar campaigns targeted at scaling down public attraction to cryptocurrency trading.
Such campaigns in Poland involved social media materials screaming loudly about the discouraging risks associated with cryptocurrency trading, forex, pyramid schemes, and all those unorthodox money ventures. In light of this, campaigns like this drank in a gigantic investment of about $173,000.
