France's Parliament Votes to Tax Crypto-to-Stablecoin Swaps at 31.4%

France moves closer to taxing crypto-to-stablecoin swaps

French lawmakers narrowly approved a proposal to tax gains when investors swap cryptocurrency for stablecoins, bringing those trades closer to the country's 31.4% capital gains levy. A stablecoin is a crypto token designed to keep a steady value, usually tied to a traditional currency.

The National Assembly adopted amendment I-3898 to the 2027 budget on Oct. 16 by 38 votes to 37, with 25 abstentions. The vote moves forward a proposal its finance committee had already approved.

The rules would apply to transactions from Jan. 1, 2027, but they still face the budget's remaining parliamentary stages and could be amended or removed before becoming law.

What the amendment would change

• Under current French tax rules, exchanges between crypto assets without an extra cash payment generally get tax deferral.
• The amendment would remove that deferral when investors receive e-money tokens as defined by the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, a set of EU rules for crypto.
• Investors could owe tax on gains when moving into qualifying stablecoins, even without withdrawing funds as regular money to a bank account.
• The text would also replace France's portfolio-wide capital gains calculation with one based on the acquisition cost of the assets sold, using a weighted average for units of the same cryptocurrency bought at different prices.

Concerns raised about implementation

Public Accounts Minister David Amiel questioned how the plan would work and asked for the amendment to be withdrawn, saying he would oppose it otherwise. He told lawmakers that stablecoins first need to be defined and that France must be able to monitor and trace reallocations within an asset portfolio.

Philippe Juvin, the finance committee's rapporteur general, said he favored keeping the deferral because of crypto's volatility.

Warnings about traders moving offshore

Francois Volpoet, Chainalysis' regional sales director for France, told CoinDesk last week that the proposal could push investors toward decentralized finance platforms, peer-to-peer transactions and offshore exchanges outside international tax-reporting arrangements. This is a reported warning about possible effects, not a confirmed outcome.

What is confirmed

The amendment was adopted by the National Assembly on Oct. 16 by 38 votes to 37, with 25 abstentions. It had previously been approved by the finance committee. Taxable gains on private investments in France face a default rate of 31.4%, though investors can opt for the progressive income-tax scale. The proposed changes would apply from Jan. 1, 2027 if they survive the remaining stages.

What is still unclear

The proposal is not yet law. It must pass the budget's remaining parliamentary steps and could still be amended or removed. Critics' claims about traders shifting to DeFi platforms, peer-to-peer deals and offshore exchanges remain warnings rather than confirmed results.

Sources

• CoinDesk