Japan Bringing In Corporate Crypto Tax Cuts To Boost Economy

Japan's financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), has decided to lower the taxes on crypto assets and individual stock investors in an attempt to boost the economy.

Companies that hold cryptocurrencies or are responsible for creating and distributing them might be exempted from paying taxes for paper gains on coins, which they hold after issuing them, the FSA said in its annual tax-code change request, Bloomberg reported.

Moreover, it has also proposed a program to give tax breaks to individual investors.

This move supports Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's "New Capitalism" vision, which aims to strengthen the world's third-largest economy. Kishida had promised to double the household wealth in Japan and also allow Web3 businesses to flourish.

Interestingly, as per previous reports, Japanese crypto lobbying groups — the Japan Cryptoasset Business Association (JCBA) and the Japan Virtual and Crypto assets Exchange Association (JVCEA) — prepared a report requesting the FSA to lower the taxes imposed on crypto assets so that Japanese firms can hold them in their corporate treasury at low costs.

As per current laws, the corporate tax on firms holding crypto is inclusive of unrealized gains, i.e., a profit made from holding an asset, which has yet to be sold in the market.

A tax rate of 30% has made it extremely hard for firms to hold digital assets in their corporate treasury.

The lobbying groups have also pointed out that due to a harsh tax structure, blockchain-focused firms are leaving Japan and moving to Singapore and other nations.

Additionally, earlier this year, the JVCEA, which comprises 31 crypto exchanges, released a "green list" of 18 popular cryptocurrencies that can be listed without any screening process by member exchanges in an attempt to speed up crypto listings.