Bitcoin [BTC] to be taxed in accordance with other commodities, says French government

The French government has started considering virtual assets on par with other taxable commodities, with the lower house of the French parliament, Assemblee Nationale, launching plans to reduce taxes on Bitcoin [BTC] sales.

A report released by the governmental body states that other taxable commodities which are not related to real estate are taxed at the rate while Bitcoin transactions are taxed a higher rate of 36.5 percent. The plan envisioned by the lower house aims to bring the tax rate on Bitcoin to the same 30 percent.

The new amendment will be added into the 2019 budget plans that have to be passed by the upper house, the Senate.

This is not the first time that France has been involved in Bitcoin with recent reports showing that over $30 million worth of Bitcoin was scammed in the P-5 country. Over 700 natives were duped in the scam, which has been a long-running saga since the beginning of 2018.

A lawyer specializing in Heritage issues, Helene Feron-Poloni, said:

“Bitcoin is very complex to understand, very technical. Investors do not necessarily understand what is happening but simply say: this time, I do not miss the opportunity to earn money”

Officials from various cryptocurrency exchanges have pointed out the problems prevalent in the crypto verse, stating that over 200 fraudulent services existed in the market, which has been active for a long time.

Another French government official, Landau, also spoke about the digital assets and said:

“The danger is three-pronged: that of freezing the rapid evolution of technology in legislation, that of failing to grasp the real nature of the object we intend to regulate and that of pushing innovation towards regulatory avoidance. On the contrary, regulation should be technologically neutral, and in order to become so, address the actors and not the products themselves.”