French Crypto Traders Declared $442 Million Worth of Profits in Recent Tax Year – Here’s the Latest

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked...

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June 25, 2023

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French taxpayers declared some $442 million worth of crypto trading profits in the most recent tax year, per the nation’s tax body.

Per Le Figaro, the figure was “substantial,” but was “10 times lower than the estimates of the gains made in 2021.”

The body made its claim based on the number of people disclosing their gains on tax returns.

However, the newspaper quoted a Chainalysis report that claimed that “the gains made in 2021 from cryptoasset trading in France amounted to more than $4 billion.”

The newspaper wrote:

“This figure is 10 times more than the amount declared to public finance authorities. In other words, a majority of cryptoasset holders still seem to be evading taxes.”

Under French law, a “flat rate” tax of 30% is imposed on crypto trading profits.

The tax was launched in 2019.

Rise in French Crypto Trading?

The tax body explained that “20,000 tax households” declared gains in 2022 for the tax year FY2021.

The newspaper noted that the body “does not provide information on the proportion of this sum that was taxed.”

But, under the terms of the law, the newspaper wrote “30% will have gone directly to the state coffers.”

The law stipulates that only crypto-to-fiat trades are subject to capital gains tax.

Crypto-to-crypto trades do not have to be declared.

But in the case of prolific traders, different taxation laws apply.

Individuals who are judged to be “regularly” receiving “profitable” crypto payments can be obliged to pay tax as though they were making “industrial and commercial profits.”

The media outlet claimed that the sum declared was “well below the estimates of capital gains during the year.”

It blamed factors such as the decline in crypto prices for this.

Earlier this month, survey data showed that one in 10 French people say they own crypto.

Some 85% of respondents said they “had knowledge” about cryptoassets.

This represents a rise of about 10% since a similar survey was conducted in 2022.