According to local reports, the Venezuelan government has approved a new tax bill that aims to collect up to 20% in taxes on cryptocurrency transactions.
The Venezuelan National Assembly held its second debate on Thursday on a new bill that deals with taxes on “large financial transactions” in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin (BTC).
The Venezuelan government is said to have approved a bill last Thursday that requires local businesses and individuals to pay up to 20% for transactions made in cryptocurrencies as well as foreign currency and US dollars.
The bill, introduced on January 20, aims to charge between 2% and 20% of transactions in all currencies other than those issued by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, or the Venezuelan Bolivar and the country’s oil-backed cryptocurrency, El Petro.
The initiative aims to encourage the use of the national currency, which has reportedly lost more than 70% of its value in the last year alone and has lost its value almost completely in the last decade.
The bill states: “It is necessary to provide at least equal or more favorable treatment for payments and transactions made in national currency or in cryptocurrencies or cryptocurrencies issued by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in exchange for payments made in foreign currency. “.
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As the Cointelegraph previously reported, the rate of bitcoin adoption in Venezuela has skyrocketed in recent years as thousands of local businesses have begun switching to crypto to survive hyperinflation. In October 2021, a major international airport in Venezuela got ready to start accepting cryptocurrencies such as BTC as payment for tickets and other services.
