Bill on cryptocurrency approved by the Paraguayan Senate
The Paraguayan Senate has approved a bill on the regulation of digital currencies and their activities in the country. The bill, which was previously introduced in the House of Commons, passed with some proposed changes, creating clear definitions and tax exemptions for companies operating in the digital currency and cryptocurrency mining sectors. LATAM countries seek to standardize and regulate digital currencies so that investors in the industry in the region have more transparency.
On July 14, the Paraguayan Senate clarified a bill on cryptocurrencies that defines several rules that companies and individuals must follow to work with cryptocurrencies. A bill introduced last year by Senator Fernando Silva Fasti and others was amended by the House, which proposed a number of changes that took into account Fasti’s comments. This bill has appointed the country’s Ministry of Industry and Trade as the agency responsible for regulating services related to digital currencies. In addition, the bill stipulates that cryptocurrency mining companies must submit an electricity consumption plan to the National Electricity Authority, which, if not followed, could cut electricity for these companies. Electricity bills will also be prepaid. As far as taxation is concerned, digital currency companies are exempt from AVI but have to pay income tax.
The cryptocurrency bill has passed the Senate and is now in the hands of the country’s president, Mario Abdo Benitez, who can approve or veto the document. However, part of the deputies expressed dissatisfaction with the adoption of this law in its current form, and part demanded a presidential veto. Another senator, Esperanza Martinez, criticized the cryptocurrency bill, saying cryptocurrency is not even a real industry. Additionally, Martinez said the industry is “energy and mining,” explaining that it consumes a lot of resources for the few jobs it offers. Another senator, Enrique Paceta, also supported Martinez’s views and called for a presidential veto of the law. If it is vetoed, this digital currency will not be the first to feel it in Bill Ladam. Panama President Laurentino Cortizo partially vetoed the crypto law in June over money laundering concerns related to cryptocurrency.
Read more: A new law in Paraguay might turn the nation into a mining paradise.
