Russian Tax Service To Treat Bitcoin As A Foreign Currency

The Russian Federal Tax Service has published a letter on measures to control cryptocurrency circulation and exchange.

According to the letter published by the Russian Federal Tax Service, Russian legislation does not prohibit individuals or companies from using cryptocurrencies, thus the Federal Tax Service of Russia considers that operations with the purchase or sale of cryptocurrency should be treated as transactions with foreign currencies, reported Bits.media.

However, the Tax Service may still consider some transactions with cryptocurrencies as operations of money laundering or terrorist financing.

The Russian Federal Tax Service also noted the necessity to develop methods to monitor the activities of cryptocurrency businesses, such as cryptocurrency miners or exchanges. However, the Tax Service doesn’t clarify how they plan to control cryptocurrencies with distributed emission. 

The Russian government plans to discuss the legislative status of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies further on December 15, 2016.