The Government is proposing to apply IRS taxation to (i) operations of a business nature relating to the issuance of cryptoassets, or (ii) the validation of cryptoasset transactions through consensus mechanisms. These will be taxed as professional and business income (Category B), and this income will be considered at only 15% under the simplified arrangements for this category (applicable in the case of gross annual income of €200,000 or less).
If the income is not considered to derive from engaging in a business activity, it is proposed that the capital gains (Category G) obtained from cryptoasset transactions will be subject to IRS at a special rate of 28%, although it will also be possible to opt for aggregation. However, the capital gains obtained from the disposal for consideration of cryptoassets held for a period of 365 days or more will be exempt from IRS. Cryptoassets acquired before the entry into force of the State Budget for 2023 will be considered for the period for which they are held.
There is a proposal for a new ancillary reporting obligation. This obligation applies to individuals and legal entities, bodies and other arrangements without legal personality that provide custody and administration services on behalf of third parties or manage trading platforms. Under the proposal, they will have to report their transactions to the Tax Authority by the end of January using an official form (Modelo) that is still to be approved.
In line with the IRS proposals, for companies there is also a proposal that, to determine the taxable income under the simplified scheme, only 15% of income related to cryptoassets should be considered for IRC purposes, and provided it does not result from the positive balance of capital gains and losses and other asset increases. It should be noted that income from a cryptoasset business activity is already subject to IRC under the general terms.
Furthermore, it is proposed that free transfers of cryptoassets, for example, gifts, should be subject to Stamp Duty at a rate of 10%. The taxable value of cryptoassets should preferably be determined in accordance with the rules currently applicable under the Stamp Duty Code. In other words, it should be determined by the value of the official quotation or by the value declared by the head of household or beneficiary, and it should, as far as possible, be close to the market value.
Similarly, there is also a proposal to levy Stamp Duty on commissions and consideration charged for intermediation by cryptoasset service providers at a rate of 4%. However, this does not affect the application of the rule excluding the levying of Stamp Duty in the case of transactions subject to and not exempt from VAT.
Lastly, the IMT (Municipal Property Transfer Tax) liability for transfers of real property for which cryptoasset are used as consideration is clarified. The value of the cryptoassets given in exchange for the property is considered to be the value of the contract.
For these purposes, “cryptoassets” are defined as any digital representation of value or rights that can be transferred or stored electronically using distributed ledger or similar technology.