Japan may see a reduced 20% tax on crypto earnings with new proposal

The proposal calls for a separate 20% tax on crypto earnings and exemptions of any tax on crypto gains, with losses carried forward for up to three years.

The Japan Crypto-Asset Business Association (JCBA) and the Japan Crypto-Asset Exchange Association (JVCEA), the two prominent crypto advocacy groups in Japan, released a tax reform request that calls for lowering taxes for individual investors on crypto earnings. 

The fiscal 2023 tax reform request addressed key issues that the advocacy groups believe act as a hindrance to crypto adoption in the country. The proposal focused on the need for improvement in the individual tax filing environment, the importance of crypto assets in Japan’s web3 strategy, and comparison with overseas crypto asset tax systems.

The proposal calls for a separate 20% tax for individual crypto investors with provisions to carry forward losses for three years from the following year. The proposal also calls for the same tax structure to be applied on the crypto derivatives market.

The 20% separate tax on crypto earnings with an exemption on unrealized gains would prove to be a big relief for crypto investors in Japan who currently faces taxes of up to 55% on their crypto investments.

The tax reform proposal comes just a week after Cointelegraph reported about an internal memo for crypto tax reforms slated to be submitted to Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA).

Related: Half of Asia’s affluent investors have crypto in their portfolio

The Japanese crypto groups have been working to ensure that the crypto industry thrives in the country with a particular focus on tax reforms. These crypto lobby groups believe a high tax rate would make it difficult for businesses and individual investors to hold digital assets in Japan compared to more crypto-friendly nations.

Crypto taxes were the focus of several governments around the globe this year, with many countries implementing high tax slabs while others moved to abolish or delay it due to a lack of clear regulations. India imposed a 30% tax on crypto gains in April this year, while Thailand scrapped its 15% crypto tax proposal and even exempted traders from 7% VAT to encourage crypto adoption in the country. Similarly, South Korea postponed its 20% proposed crypto tax policy to 2025.