The Duma has passed the first reading: brokers will become tax agents, with a five-year proof retention requirement—compliance costs are effectively maxed out, and smaller exchanges are about to shut down.

Crypto World News reports that, according to bits media, the Russian State Duma has passed, at first reading, a cryptocurrency tax reform bill submitted by the government. The bill provides that the taxable amount for cryptocurrency transactions will be calculated based on the positive difference between digital asset gains and costs (i.e., net profit), and allows investors to offset profits with losses within the same tax period. The bill requires brokers and trust managers to serve as tax agents for personal income tax (ndfl); they must verify costs with documentation and retain records for five years. Except for mining, crypto earnings under foreign trade contracts will be included in the total base for corporate income tax, and foreign digital rights are treated as equivalent to cryptocurrencies. The bill also exempts value-added tax (ndf) on the sale of foreign digital rights that involve no delivery and only establish monetary claims, and waives VAT on digital custody and exchange services.