Japan’s Democratic Party leader vows crypto tax cut to 20% if elected

Japan’s Democratic Party for the People leader, Yuichiro Tamaki, promises to cut crypto tax to 20% along with a number of other crypto-related policies if the party gets elected.

In an X post on Oct. 21, Japanese politician and Democratic Party for the People leader, Yuichiro Tamaki, shared his party’s proposed policies regarding cryptocurrency in Japan. The DPP leader proposed that it would lower tax crypto gains to 20% if he gets elected.

“If you think crypto assets should be taxed separately at 20% instead of treated as miscellaneous income, please vote for the Democratic Party for the People. There will be no tax when exchanging crypto assets with other crypto assets,” wrote Tamaki in a translated post.

Under Japan’s current regulations, crypto is classified under “miscellaneous income” which means Japan’s crypto tax could reach up to 55% depending on personal income. Meanwhile, profits earned from stock trading receive a maximum tax rate of 20%.

In DPP’s policy statement, one of their main points include “supporting token economy using crypto assets.” The party vows to utilize non-fungible tokens as well as cryptocurrency to boost Japan’s economy.

“Anyway, for now, we want to make Japan a strong nation in the web3 business,” said Tamaki on X in response to a user’s question.

Within the policy statement, DPP proposes to tax crypto gains at 20%, putting digital asset at the same level as taxes on profits from the stock market. Therefore, there would be no tax event occurring when trading crypto assets under Tamaki’s plan.

Aside from lowering the crypto tax, DPP promises to increase the leverage multiplier from two-fold to ten-fold and introduce cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds. They also plan to convert the yen into an electronic currency.

“Promote the issuance of “digital regional currencies” (tentative name) by local governments as crypto assets that will help revitalize local economies,” stated the DPP in Japan.

According to a recent survey by Japanese media Mainichi, the DPP has little chance of winning Japan’s election.

The Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito are in the lead with a grip on the majority of votes. Meanwhile the DPP may see its representation increase from seven to as many as 20 seats.

Upon his win on Oct. 1, President of the Liberal Democratic Party and Japan’s current Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, announced through a policy document that he intends to use blockchain technology and NFTs to boost Japan’s economy by revaluing local assets like food and tourism on a global scale.

Moreover, Masaaki Taira, the current chief of LDP’s Web3 task force and Minister of Digital Affairs proposed a plan to connect diverse experiences and apply Japanese intellectual property laws to NFTs. He also suggested measures to boost crypto startups by reforming Japan’s tax system.