CRYPTO NEWS : Italy’s government has taken steps to reduce the proposed increase in the cryptocurrency capital gains tax from an initial 42% to 28%.
The League, one of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s ruling coalition partners, has proposed the amendment.
This comes after concerns that the higher tax could discourage investment in Italy’s fast-growing digital asset market.
The amendment supported by Prime Minister Meloni’s administration is expected to attract both the crypto investors and businesses within Italy and is the League’s amendment.
The initial plan of a 42% tax increase that was proposed in the October budget draft was to increase revenue as part of the 2025 economic plan.
However, the high tax rate that was introduced elicited fear in Italy’s competitiveness in the global cryptocurrency market.
Industry representatives stated that a 42% tax rate could negatively impact Italy’s appeal for crypto-related business, which includes blockchain, digital asset trading, and investment.
They claimed that a lower rate would help Italy preserve its attractiveness to both local and foreign investors.
This would additionally foster the growth of the country’s financial innovation sector. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, for example, shared a meme indicating that crypto users might abandon Italy for better environments.
With the proposed amendment, the 28% tax rate helps Italy come closer to its current levy of 26%, thus reducing the tax pressure on crypto investors.
This tax policy now awaits the approval of the government and it is expected to be approved soon. If the amendment is approved, investors in cryptocurrencies in Italy will get a clear and, perhaps, favorable set of rules.
Another coalition partner, Forza Italia, has also put forward another amendment to totally remove the tax increase. This proposal also aims at removing the current exclusion of capital gains tax on income not exceeding $2,120.
In other News, the value of one Bitcoin has now surpassed one kilogram (kg) of gold after the flagship digital asset surpassed $85,000. A kg of gold is trading at around $84,000 as the precious metal now trails Bitcoin.
Over the last 24 hours, BTC has increased by more than 10% and has now cemented its position over $89,000. This represents one of its biggest daily gains over the past seven days, leading to speculations that it could hit $100,000 before the month ends.
Bitcoin’s positive performance highlights the unrelenting upward movement of the crypto industry and financial marketers in general since Donald Trump was elected president. Over the last seven days, Bitcoin has increased by 30%, enough to cause the flagship asset to double in value year-to-date.
The flagship asset’s market cap has now reached $1.77 trillion, overtaking silver as the eighth biggest asset and poised to surpass Saudi Aramco, ranked seventh with $1.807 trillion. Many believe it will eventually overtake gold in market cap as well.