Tax exemptions for companies and individuals legally working with cryptocurrencies in Belarus will remain in place until Jan. 1, 2025. A new presidential decree extends the tax cuts introduced in 2018 when the executive power in Minsk legalized crypto activities such as mining and trading.
Belarus to Maintain Its Crypto-Friendly Tax Regime for Another 2 Years
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has approved the extension of the tax preferences provided to crypto companies registered in the country and people involved in the industry. On Tuesday, the Belarusian leader signed Decree No. 80 “On Certain Issues of Taxation.”
The document prolongs the tax breaks that were introduced with Lukashenko’s Decree No. 8 “On the Development of the Digital Economy” of Dec. 21, 2017. The latter legalized a number of crypto-related activities in the country when it went into force on March 28, 2018.
The regulations, including the tax benefits, apply only to residents of the Belarus High-Tech Park (HTP). Its special legal regime permits the issuance and circulation of cryptocurrencies and tokens and the Belarusian authorities now seek to ensure its development.
Under Lukashenko’s latest decree, the turnover and profit of such entities will not be subject to value-added tax (VAT) and profit tax until Jan. 1, 2025. Individuals will be also relieved from income tax during the same period, for income received from mining, acquisition, exchange, or sale of crypto assets for fiat currencies.
The president has also ordered the Administration of the HTP to produce a concept for the further development of the crypto sphere in Belarus by July 2024, working with interested parties. The decree enters into force with its publication but covers the first months of the year, too, as the tax exemptions expired on Jan. 1, 2023.
While supporting regulated crypto businesses, the Belarusian government has been going after unauthorized undertakings. In August 2022, law enforcement officials in Minsk issued an international arrest warrant for the owner of the country’s largest unlicensed crypto exchanger, Bitok.me. And in January of this year, a Belarusian citizen was fined $1 million for illegal crypto trading.
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Do you think Belarus will extend the tax exemptions again in 2025? Share your expectations in the comments section below.
Lubomir Tassev
Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’s quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.
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Lubomir Tassev