UK's State Opening of Parliament highlights crypto

In the UK’s State Opening of Parliament, the UK government outlined the legislative agenda for the next parliamentary year, with Prince Charles highlighting a bill that promised legislation on economic crime and financial services, including cryptocurrency reform.

Prince Charles noted that the UK government’s top priority is to “grow and strengthen the economy and help ease the cost of living for families”.

Out of the 38 new bills proposed, one new law- the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill promises to “crack down on the kleptocrats, criminals, and terrorists who abuse [The UK’s] open economy, ensuring we drive out dirty money from the UK”.

A further bill that highlighted cryptocurrency was the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which aims to promote the UK as an attractive place to conduct business and invest.

One of the key benefits of the bill, as stated in the official government briefing, is outlined as the following:

“Harnessing the opportunities of innovative technologies in financial services, including supporting the safe adoption of cryptocurrencies and resilient outsourcing to technology providers.”

The briefing note accompanying the speech noted that “the creation of a civil forfeiture power will mitigate the risk posed by those who cannot be criminally prosecuted but use their funds to further criminality”.

William Je Founder of Himalaya Exchange commented on how the proposed bills will affect investors, noting:

 “It seems as though there is now a mounting pressure on investors. For UK tax purposes, crypto assets are usually subject to capital gains tax for individuals who hold them as personal investments on any profit realised.

He added:

“Investors also need to be aware that there are also instances if an individual is seen to be ‘trading’, ‘mining’ or as part of an employment remuneration package then any profit could be open to income tax. As with any asset if there has been no disposal of the cryptocurrencies there is not usually any tax due as you only pay taxes in the UK on realised profits.”

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.