Greece plans 10% capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies

Greece’s draft bill proposes a 10% tax on crypto capital gains, with exemptions for annual gains of up to 500 euros and crypto-to-crypto swaps. Greece’s Ministry of National Economy and Finance >published a draft bill on Wednesday proposing a 10% tax on individuals’ crypto capital gains, with an exemption for annual gains of up to 500 euros ($559.95). The proposal would allow voluntary declaration of previously realized crypto gains without penalties, within 12 months of the law’s publication. It would exempt crypto-to-crypto swaps from capital gains tax and introduce a flat 10% tax on returns from staking, lending or liquidity provision. The draft bill would fill a legislative gap in Greece’s treatment of crypto taxation, according to the ministry. Public consultation will close on Oct. 22, with the ministry aiming for a parliamentary vote in the first week of November. Several European countries have already developed digital asset taxation rules. Austria introduced a 27.5% tax on cryptocurrency gains in March 2022. France introduced a 30% flat tax on individual crypto capital gains in December 2018. In September, the German Federal Ministry of Finance reportedly issued a draft proposal to subject cryptocurrency trading profits to the standard 25% flat-rate tax starting in 2028. Under current >law, individuals’ gains from selling crypto assets held for more than 12 months are generally tax-free. Related: Crypto adoption blooming in Germany, while UK is falling ‘behind,’ says CoinShares researcher Greece is among the European Union countries >required to implement the bloc’s eighth amendment to the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC8), a tax transparency directive that extends automatic information sharing between national authorities to crypto transactions. The directive requires