Russian lawyers set up new commission to help crypto industry

The Russian Lawyers Association is teaming up with Blockchain Lawyers to set up a specialized commission to address the legal issues faced by local crypto firms, Block Tribune reported.

The commission will reportedly work towards providing answers to the queries and issues stemming from the lack of proper crypto regulations in the country. It will also engage with companies in other related sectors, such as blockchain development, artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technologies and the Internet of Things (IoT).

According to Bitcoin.com, the commission will operate within the Moscow regional branch of the Russian Lawyers Association.

During a recently held roundtable discussion, members of the commission agreed to provide legal definitions to many of the emerging economic and technological phenomena in the digital universe, Block Tribune said referring to a report from Bitcrypto News.

The meeting focused on a number of topics such as “taxation, issues of law enforcement, protection of rights to digital assets, the formation of special legal regimes and the criminal law regulation of the crypto industry.”

Earlier this year, the Russian parliament approved the first reading of new cryptocurrency regulations. The new laws define cryptocurrencies as “other property” and ICOs as “property rights,” meaning the Russian tax code will apply different rates to these two categories once adopted.

“The main problem is that the tax code separates the concepts of “property” and “property rights,” as a result, two polar tax regimes arise,” said Mikhail Uspensky, partner of the law firm Taxology (as quoted by Block Tribune). “As long as the legislator does not clearly define the civil nature of the token, it will be extremely difficult to build a competent tax accounting.”