Israel Further Recognizes Crypto with New Tax Bill
- Israel has a budding crypto community, and the new bill would be a plus for the industry.
- Israeli authorities are working to ensure that crypto activities are regulated.
On Wednesday, July 5, the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, passed a preliminary reading of a bill that would grant the country’s crypto industry several tax benefits currently available only to high-tech companies operating in Israel.
The bill seeks to lower taxes on employee cryptocurrency options and exempt foreign residents from capital gains taxes when they sell cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.
The new bill is reportedly backed by some of the top politicians in Israel. Dan Illouz, a lawmaker from the Likud party, revealed that the bill has the backing of the coalition government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and is in line with his economic strategies to entice foreign investors and businesses to Israel.
Illouz said in a statement,
Up until now, workers in the crypto industry had to pay double the tax on their options compared to workers in the traditional high-tech industry. Moreover, foreign investors in the blockchain industry were not entitled to the same benefits as those entitled to investors in the traditional high-tech industry. This law amendment aims to balance the situation and eliminate discrimination in taxation.
Crypto is fast becoming a vital part of Israel’s economy, and the country has prioritized regulating the sector, especially concepts such as stablecoins.
Last month, the Israeli government announced that it had seized $1.7 million in cryptocurrency from wallets connected to the Iranian military and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon with help from blockchain analysis company, Chainalysis. The operation was carried out by the Israeli police, the Mossad spy agency, and other organizations.
Reuters reported in May that Israeli authorities, in partnership with Binance, had seized about 190 Binance accounts believed to have connections to terrorist organizations, including Hamas and Daesh, since 2021.
These actions reflect the Israeli government’s commitment to cleaning up its system to make crypto trading safe for its residents.
I have covered some exciting stories in my career as a journalist and find blockchain-related stories very intriguing. I believe Web3 will change the world and want everyone to be a part of it.
