Russia to ‘Integrate’ Digital Ruble With Tax Code – Moscow Forges Ahead with CBDC

Author

Tim Alper

Author

Tim Alper

About Author

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...

Author Profile

Share

Copied

Last updated:

September 19, 2023 21:06 EDT

Why Trust Cryptonews

Cryptonews has covered the cryptocurrency industry topics since 2017, aiming to provide informative insights to our readers. Our journalists and analysts have extensive experience in market analysis and blockchain technologies. We strive to maintain high editorial standards, focusing on factual accuracy and balanced reporting across all areas - from cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects to industry events, products, and technological developments. Our ongoing presence in the industry reflects our commitment to delivering relevant information in the evolving world of digital assets. Read more about Cryptonews

Russia is set to “integrate” its CBDC, the digital ruble, into its tax system, with legislation set to roll out before the year’s end.

Per Prime, the State Duma’s Committee on Budgets and Taxes has approved a private member’s bill that seeks to amend the Tax Code.

The amendment will allow tax bodies to “integrate the digital ruble” into Russia’s “system of tax regulation and control,” lawmakers said.

The bill will introduce concepts such as “digital ruble wallets” into the Tax Code.

It will also dictated that “operations related to the opening and maintenance of digital ruble wallets” are exempt from VAT.

The draft law will also require parties to keep records of transactions and income in digital yuan wallets, as well as CBDC-related expenses.

The judiciary, meanwhile, will be allowed to issue foreclose orders on digital ruble wallets in bankruptcies and similar cases.

The committee has approved the bill, which was brought forward by the lawmakers Anatoly Aksakov and Olga Anufriyeva and the senator Nikolai Zhuravlev.

Aksakov is the chief architect of Russia’s crypto legislation and the head of the Duma’s Financial Markets Committee.

He has previously spoken of the CBDC’s cross-border potential.

Anufriyeva, meanwhile, is a former DeputyMinister of Taxes and Duties.

And Zhuravlev is the former CEO of the Russian megabank Sovcombank.

Russia Drafting CBDC-Tax Laws

The bill will be submitted before the Duma on September 20 for its first reading.

If approved, it will then be re-submitted for a second reading.

If it then receives presidential approval, the bill could – in theory – promulgate on January 1, 2024, if not sooner.

Earlier this week, the Central Bank claimed that its digital ruble project was “entirely separate” from efforts to launch a biometrics-powered identification platform.

The CBDC pilot got underway in mid-August in 11 cities nationwide.