Former Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Music, and Sport Matt Hancock stated that the United Kingdom must take a long-term approach and lower crypto taxes to allow digital innovation to flourish.
“HMRC has taken a revenue-maximizing approach…applying it in a sledgehammer way. what we need to do is take a growth-maximizing view where revenues in the future will be far greater.”
Hancock stated this during his keynote speech at Zebu Live in London on September 22.
During the Q&A section of his speech, Hancock focused on HMRC, the United Kingdom’s tax authority. The United Kingdom’s tax laws treat cryptocurrency the same as other assets, which means that all crypto trades are subject to a 20% capital gains tax.
A taxable event occurs whenever one digital asset is exchanged for another. Furthermore, mining and yield farming are considered income and are taxed at 40% for anyone earning more than £50,271. People earning less than £12,570 per year, on the other hand, pay no income tax.
In the United Kingdom, capital gains tax is complicated to understand and involves calculating your income tax to determine if you are within the basic tax rate banding. Those who are subject to the ‘basic tax rate’ pay 10% capital gains tax, while others pay 20%.
Hancock, who is bullish on crypto and digital assets as a means for the United Kingdom to reclaim dominance in global financial markets, now believes that the United Kingdom’s crypto tax rate does not best serve innovation within the country.
The MP also suggested that some laws be changed to accommodate innovations in the crypto industry. Hancock also stated that:
“Within the existing framework, we need regulators to be front foot, positive, open, risk-on, instead of the opposite of all those things.
Throughout the keynote, Hancock repeatedly asked the British public for feedback on the issues they face working in crypto in the UK.
Anyone in the United Kingdom who wishes to contact Hancock can do so using the information provided on the Parliament website.
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