French National Assembly Delays Budget Vote, Rejects Crypto Exit Tax Proposals

According to the Assembly’s end-of-session notice released after Monday’s meeting, Tuesday’s agenda will focus on questions for the government and ongoing debate over the budget’s revenue portion, with 758 amendments yet to be reviewed.

This marks the second postponement of the vote, which was initially scheduled for October 20 but was delayed due to the need to debate over 2,000 proposed amendments, as reported by French newspaper Le Monde.

The Assembly must complete the first reading of the budget by midnight on November 17. Should the revenue section be rejected, the government’s original budget proposal will be forwarded to the Senate without incorporating deputies’ amendments.

On Friday, the National Assembly dismissed two proposals aimed at imposing an exit tax on unrealized cryptocurrency gains when taxpayers change their tax residency abroad.

The first proposal, which sought to extend the country's existing exit tax framework to cover crypto assets, was rejected by a vote of 27 in favor, 55 against, and one abstention, according to official Assembly records.

A separate measure was also dismissed, having proposed taxing unrealized gains on household cryptocurrency holdings exceeding 800,000 euros (~$897,000), applicable to taxpayers who had been tax residents in France for at least six of the previous ten years before moving residency abroad; this proposal was rejected with 31 votes for and 60 against.

Several other cryptocurrency-related proposals are still pending discussion, including one that would mandate reporting of self-custodied crypto assets valued at 100,000 euros (~$112,000) or more to tax authorities by the year's end.

Another proposal under consideration would exempt profits from cryptocurrency payments for goods and services from taxation, provided that the overall payments do not exceed 1,000 euros (~$1,120) within the tax year.

Earlier, on October 16, deputies approved a measure to tax gains realized when crypto assets are converted into fiat-backed stablecoins, although this legislation has yet to be enacted into law.

This ongoing legislative process highlights France’s cautious approach to integrating cryptocurrency taxation into its broader fiscal policies, reflecting significant scrutiny over the implications for both taxpayers and the crypto market.

The decisions and debates within the National Assembly underscore the complex balance between encouraging innovation in the crypto sector and ensuring tax compliance and revenue streams for the state.