Japanese leader to lower crypto taxes if elected

Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of Japan’s Democratic Party for the People (DPP), has pledged to lower taxes on cryptocurrency gains if elected. Tamaki’s plan proposes a flat 20% tax on crypto earnings, aligning it with stock market profits, instead of the current system where crypto is taxed as miscellaneous income. He called on voters through a translated X post, saying, “If you think crypto assets should be taxed separately at 20%… please vote for the Democratic Party for the People.”

Key points of the proposal:

• No taxes will be triggered when exchanging one crypto asset for another.
• The plan aims to make Japan a leader in the Web3 space.
• Tamaki’s proposal also supports increasing Japan’s leverage ratio from 2x to 10x and introducing crypto ETFs.

However, DPP faces a tough road ahead, holding only 7 out of 465 seats in the lower house. Japan’s current crypto tax laws impose rates between 15% and 55% based on income, far higher than stock market taxes. While Tamaki’s platform seeks to shift crypto tax policies, a recent opinion survey suggests that the ruling coalition, led by the Liberal Democratic Party, will likely maintain its majority in the upcoming October 27 election.