Japan Economic Alliance Asks Financial Regulator FSA to Reduce Tax on Crypto

The Japan Association of New Economy (JANE) has asked the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) to reduce the current tax rate for crypto trading income, Cointelegraph Japan reported on Feb. 14.

Led by Hiroshi Mikitani, the CEO of Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten, JANE has reportedly sent a proposal request to the country’s financial regulator asking them to tax crypto in compliance with progressive taxation instead of general taxation.

According to the article, income from trading cryptocurrencies is currently taxed at 55 percent. Imposing progressive taxation on crypto gains intends to reduce the tax to 20 percent — the same rate that is applied to stocks and forex markets in the country. The association has also asked the FSA to impose no tax on crypto-to-crypto transactions.

In the regulation proposal, JANE asked the Japanese regulator not to harm innovation by imposing restrictive regulation on the crypto industry. Specifically, JANE’s proposals referred to the clarification of the FSA’s regulatory scope, the process of initial coin offering (ICO) settlement, crypto custody business and derivative trading.

Rakuten, known as “Japan’s Amazon,” has recently announced a revision of its corporate structure, setting up a new payments subsidiary that includes its crypto-related business. The company noted plans to rebrand its loyalty branch, Spotlight Inc., to a new entity called Rakuten Payment, which will also operate a cryptocurrency exchange.

Meanwhile, the FSA recently revealed that the agency’s review process of crypto-related businesses licenses will be either approved or rejected within six months, starting on Jan. 12.