Spain’s Sumar Party Proposes 47% Crypto Tax Hike

The Sumar parliamentary group has introduced amendments to reform three major tax laws affecting cryptocurrencies: the General Tax Law, Income Tax Law, and Inheritance and Gift Tax Law. This comprehensive approach demonstrates the party’s intention to fundamentally reshape how digital assets are treated within Spain’s tax framework. The proposal specifically targets how crypto profits are taxed, shifting gains from non-financial-instrument assets into the general income tax bracket, which would raise the top rate to 47% instead of the current 30% savings rate.

This tax restructuring creates a significant disparity between individual and corporate crypto holders. While individual investors would face the new 47% top rate, corporate entities would maintain a flat 30% tax rate on their cryptocurrency holdings. The differentiation suggests Sumar’s focus is primarily on retail investors rather than institutional crypto participants. The proposed changes would affect all digital assets regardless of their classification, creating a uniform tax treatment across the cryptocurrency spectrum.

Beyond the substantial tax increases, the Sumar proposal would classify all digital assets as seizable property, giving authorities broader powers to access and control cryptocurrency holdings in legal proceedings. This classification represents a significant expansion of regulatory authority over digital assets, potentially affecting everything from bankruptcy proceedings to criminal investigations. The move aligns cryptocurrencies with traditional financial assets in terms of legal enforceability and state control.

The seizable property designation could have far-reaching implications for Spanish crypto investors, particularly in scenarios involving debt collection, divorce settlements, or inheritance disputes. By treating digital assets as fully seizable, the Spanish government would gain the ability to legally compel access to cryptocurrency wallets and exchanges, a power that has been legally ambiguous in many jurisdictions. This represents a substantial shift from the current treatment of cryptocurrencies as a more private form of asset ownership.

The proposed legislation includes a requirement for the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) to create a visual ‘risk traffic light’ system for cryptocurrencies, to be displayed on investor platforms. This system would provide color-coded risk assessments for various digital assets, similar to energy efficiency labels on appliances or nutritional information on food products. The initiative appears designed to address concerns about retail investor protection in what many regulators view as a high-risk asset class.

The risk rating system would mark a significant expansion of the CNMV’s role in cryptocurrency oversight, moving beyond traditional securities regulation into the broader digital asset space. By requiring platforms to display these risk assessments, the government aims to provide clearer information to investors about the potential volatility and regulatory status of different cryptocurrencies. This approach reflects growing international trends toward enhanced crypto investor protection, though the specific implementation through a traffic light system appears unique to the Spanish proposal.

The comprehensive nature of these reforms suggests Spain is moving toward a more integrated regulatory framework for digital assets, potentially setting a precedent for other European Union member states. As cryptocurrency adoption continues to grow across Europe, the outcome of Sumar’s proposal could influence broader EU policy discussions about digital asset taxation and regulation. The combination of higher taxes, enhanced legal control, and investor protection measures represents a holistic approach to bringing cryptocurrencies more firmly within the traditional financial regulatory system.