The Upper House of the Russian Parliament has just passed a bill that will tax cryptocurrency transactions and mining.
This measure will effectively exempt cryptocurrency transactions from value added tax. The bill now awaits President Vladimir Putin's approval before officially becoming law.
The Federation Council announced on Wednesday that it has given its approval, after the State Duma (lower house) did the same the day before. The amendments to the tax law, proposed by the Russian government, categorize digital currencies as property.
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Under the amendments, transactions with cryptocurrencies will not be subject to value-added tax, while income from trading will be taxed at the same rates as income from securities transactions, with a maximum personal income tax rate of 15%.