The Portuguese Parliament Has Rejected Proposals to Tax Bitcoin and Other Cryptos

The Portuguese Parliament, the Assembleia da Repblica, has rejected two separate proposals to tax Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, both of which originated from minority political parties. 

According to a story published in the Portuguese economic monthly ECO, the proposals were put forth by the left-leaning parties Bloco de Esquerda and Livre, and both were shot down during a voting session for the 2022 budget on May 25. 

The Socialist Party, which is now in power and controls a majority of the legislature, has yet to introduce any laws. Despite this, there is a chance that Portugal will no longer exempt cryptocurrencies from taxation. 

However, the country’s Finance Minister, Fernando Medina, announced earlier this month that the government would begin taxing crypto. He also claimed that the government would work on the regulatory framework, although he did not specify when this would take place. 

Fernando Medina said, 

“Many countries already have systems, many countries are building their models in relation to this subject and we will build our own.” 

Furthermore, he added that the tax system should not contain any “gaps” that would result in some earnings not being taxed in the country. 

Furthermore, Mariana Mortágua, a member of parliament from the Bloco de Esquerda who has been vocal about crypto taxation, criticized the administration for failing to find a way to tax crypto before the vote.

Mariana Mortágua notes, 

“Regardless of necessary future crypto regulations, our contribution to put an end to this offshore is to subject crypto assets to the same rate applicable to capital gains on equivalent income.”