Ljubljana - Slovenia's Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) expressed its support on Wednesday for the new draft bill on cryptocurrency taxation, as it believes the additional state budget revenue could contribute to a tax relief on net wages, which the GZS has long advocated for.

GZS head Aleš Cantarutti pointed out that the potential adoption of the draft bill, which the Finance Ministry recently sent into public consultation, would close the legal vacuum in the area of cryptocurrency taxation.

Cryptocurrencies stimulate entrepreneurs and offer an alternative form of financing for start-ups, changing the established patterns of business processes and increasing the efficiency of the economy, added the GZS.

The draft bill deals with the taxation of individuals who trade in cryptocurrencies, and delineates when trading is considered as a business activity and when an individual is trading for their own account.

The Finance Ministry's proposal foresees a 10% tax rate, with the tax levied on the amount of cryptocurrency withdrawals made in a single calendar year.

The tax base would be the sum of all withdrawals, with an exemption of EUR 10,000 per year, and a resulting positive difference after the exemption would be additionally reduced by normalised costs equal to 50% of this difference.

The ministry estimates that the state budget should receive between EUR 100,000 and EUR 500,000 per year in the first few years if the bill enters into force. The public consultation on the bill continues until 21 February.