French Parliament Delays 2027 Budget Decision, Abandons Cryptocurrency Exit Tax Plans
Lawmakers in the National Assembly have delayed the budget revenue section vote for the second consecutive time, with the November 17 deadline for completing the first reading examination rapidly approaching.
France's National Assembly has decided to extend its deliberations on the revenue portion of the 2027 national budget until Tuesday rather than proceeding with the scheduled vote as initially planned.
The Assembly's end-of-session announcement released after Monday's parliamentary session revealed that Tuesday's schedule will feature questions directed to government officials and ongoing discussions regarding the budget's revenue component, with 758 proposed amendments remaining under consideration.
The postponement represents the second time the vote has been rescheduled, following the initial Oct. 20 voting session that was deferred when over 2,000 amendments required review and discussion, as reported by French publication Le Monde.
French legislators face a midnight deadline on Nov. 17 to finalize their first-reading review. Should the revenue portion fail to gain approval, the government's initial budget framework will proceed to the Senate for consideration without incorporating any modifications that members of parliament have adopted.
France rejects crypto exit tax proposals
French lawmakers in the National Assembly voted down two separate legislative proposals on Friday that sought to impose exit taxation on unrealized cryptocurrency profits whenever taxpayers relocated their fiscal residency to another country.
The first amendment failed to pass after legislators rejected it by 27 votes supporting, 55 opposing and one member abstaining, based on the Assembly's official parliamentary voting records. This proposal aimed to incorporate digital currency assets into France's current exit taxation framework.
The second amendment met a similar fate, receiving rejection with 31 favorable votes and 60 votes against. This measure would have imposed taxes on unrealized profits from household cryptocurrency portfolios exceeding 800,000 euros ($897,000) in value whenever taxpayers moved their tax residency beyond France's borders, contingent upon their having maintained French tax residency for no less than six of the previous 10 years.
Additional cryptocurrency-focused amendments remain under consideration for future debate, including one measure requiring individuals to disclose self-custodied digital currency holdings with a combined valuation of no less than 100,000 euros ($112,000) to taxation authorities, calculated based on their year-end market value.
An additional proposal under consideration would create a tax exemption for profits realized on cryptocurrency transactions used for purchasing goods and services, provided the aggregate value of such payments remains below 1,000 euros ($1,120) throughout the tax year.
On Oct. 16, members of parliament gave approval to an amendment that would impose taxation on profits generated when cryptocurrency assets undergo conversion into fiat currency-backed stablecoins. This particular measure has not yet been enacted into law.