The Venezuelan government has approved new taxes that affect foreign and cryptocurrency transactions. This tax, called the “Large Financial Transaction Tax” approved by the Parliament, imposes up to 20% on transactions made in national fiat or non-oil currencies.
Venezuelan government tax crypto transactions
The Venezuelan government has approved new taxes that affect cryptocurrency and foreign currency transactions and payments. Called the “Large Financial Transaction Tax,” this tax aims to encourage the use of local currencies, which have recently become less important in multi-currency environments such as Venezuela. The
tax stipulates that all transactions or payments in unrestricted foreign or cryptocurrencies must be paid up to 20% per move, depending on the type of move and the company or people doing it. increase.
The percentage to be paid will be established by the national government after the official publication of the law, but in its first application, it will collect 2.5% on these payments.
Amount and reaction of cryptocurrencies detected
The inclusion of cryptocurrencies in this law is a recognition of the importance of this type of currency and the amount of movement within the country in terms of transactions and payments. That is the opinion of economist Aaron Olmos. However, the main purpose of the law is to tax transactions in dollars, which is estimated to account for 65% of domestic businesses and payments.
Venezuelan economist Jose Guerra believes this will hit the pockets of Venezuelans who use foreign and cryptocurrencies to store their savings. Gala said: It must be recognized that
Forex has solved some of the cash, reserves and savings issues for everyone in the country. To some extent, crypto assets. Making this decision seeks to prioritize one payment method over another.
Another side effect of the law is an incentive to create a black market to avoid paying for the law, said Oscar Jose Trealva, director of the National Center for Economic Knowledge Dissemination. Trealva explained that traders and people are acting outside the scope of the law, boosted by tax pressures.
