Spanish Crypto Investors ‘Fleeing to Portugal to Escape Taxes,’ Say Lawyers
Increasing levels of scrutiny from the Spanish taxman are forcing Spaniards to flock to Portugal – or at least declare their legal residence of their Iberian neighbor nation. And it is a phenomenon that could one day turn Spain into what legal experts have called a “crypto desert.”
Portugal is known among crypto investors as a “tax-free haven,” where taxes are not imposed on cryptoasset holders and traders. Business Insider Spain reported that this “contrasts” with the situation across the border in Spain, where regulations continue to become stricter and stricter.
Although a recent attempt to tax citizens on their crypto holdings held abroad as part of the controversial Modelo 720 system ended in something akin to farce, the taxman is likely to tweak declaration protocols to ensure that they get a cut of trading profits in the near future.
The report quoted the lawyers Teresa Novo and Luisa Cinca, both from the Belzuz Abogados law firm – which operates in both Spain and Portugal, and specializes in corporate and tax-related matters – as stating that crypto “investors residing in Spain are transferring their official residence to Portugal.”
The lawyers warned that this group included “highly qualified” people, many of whom have “training in the areas of IT, computer engineering, and or economics,” who were specifically “looking for a country where they do not have to pay tax on all or part of their income.”
Although Portuguese law does not contain any specific rules pertaining to the taxation of income from the sale of cryptoassets, the legal experts stated that the situation is slightly more nuanced, to the extent that “it is debatable” whether token sales “should be subject to taxation in Portugal,” as they “do not result
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