Digital Ruble to Be Incorporated Into Russia’s Tax Code

Russia plans to include its digital currency, the digital ruble, in its tax system through legislation that will be implemented by the end of the year, according to Prime. The State Duma’s Committee on Budgets and Taxes has approved a bill that would amend the Tax Code to allow tax authorities to integrate the digital ruble into the country’s tax regulation and control system. The bill introduces the concept of “digital ruble wallets” and exempts operations related to the opening and maintenance of these wallets from VAT. It also requires parties to keep records of transactions and income in digital ruble wallets and allows the judiciary to issue foreclosure orders on these wallets in bankruptcies and similar cases. The bill, brought forward by lawmakers Anatoly Aksakov, Olga Anufriyeva, and senator Nikolai Zhuravlev, will be submitted for its first reading on September 20 and, if approved, will undergo a second reading before potentially being promulgated on January 1, 2024.

Anatoly Aksakov, the chief architect of Russia’s crypto legislation and head of the Duma’s Financial Markets Committee, has previously mentioned the digital ruble’s cross-border potential. Olga Anufriyeva is a former Deputy Minister of Taxes and Duties, while Nikolai Zhuravlev is the former CEO of the Russian megabank Sovcombank.

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The bill will be presented to the Duma on September 20 for its initial reading. If approved, it will undergo a second reading and, with presidential approval, could be implemented on January 1, 2024, or earlier.

Earlier this week, the Central Bank stated that the digital ruble project is separate from the development of a biometrics-driven identification platform. The CBDC pilot program began in mid-August in 11 cities across the country.