Russia could tax bitcoin and other crypto mining as a treasure

Miners of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in Russia could soon be taxed if a proposal of levying a treasure tax on them gets through.

The proposal has been put forth by the Association of Banks of Russia, according to a report from local news outlet Izvestia on Thursday. Treasure tax is charged on something that a person creates or finds, e.g. fruits or products.

The association has said that cryptocurrency mining can be equated to the finding of money or any other form of treasure, adding: “Operations with virtual currencies should be taxed on profit as exchange transactions in the Tax Code.”

The proposal is scheduled to be discussed on Oct. 8, according to information on the association’s website.