Greece to tax gains from crypto, sources say

Greece is preparing legislation ​to impose a 15% ​capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies, two government ​officials with knowledge of the issue told on Friday.

Greece doesn't have a comprehensive legal framework for taxing ‌cryptocurrencies, ⁠and European ⁠Union countries don't have a unified taxation system ​for the sector.

A senior government official told Reuters that the Finance Ministry is preparing a law that is expected to be submitted to the parliament in coming months.


"The ⁠aim is ‌to include cryptocurrencies in the ​country's ​tax code," the official said.

Taxation of ⁠cryptocurrencies among European countries varies from 8% in ​Cyprus to 30% in France ​and is usually imposed on capital gains.

A second official confirmed the government's plan, adding that the first 500 euros ($580) of gains will be tax-free. The tax will not ‌apply to individual cryptocurrency mining, but will if the entity mining is registered ​as ​a corporation.

Both ⁠officials said that it is very difficult to estimate the size of Greece's cryptocurrency market since the ​vast majority of investors use platforms outside the country. For the moment there isn't a specific projection for state revenues from the new tax.

($1 = 0.8615 euros)