French Budget Panel Blocks Stablecoin Tax Push, Rejects 2027 Revenue Bill

France’s plan to tax stablecoin swap transactions and expand exit taxes for wealthy digital-asset holders moving abroad has hit a roadblock after the revenue section of the budget bill was voted down.

Decrypt reported on October 10 that the finance committee of France’s lower house rejected the revenue section of the 2027 budget bill on October 9 by 31 votes to 3. As a result, proposed amendments on digital-asset taxation are not expected to be automatically reflected when the full chamber begins debate on October 13.

The committee had previously adopted an amendment to make swaps of digital assets into stablecoins taxable. Specifically, the measure would treat exchanges of digital assets into electronic money tokens, or EMTs, as defined under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, or MiCA, as a sale and tax any resulting gains.

Lawmakers had also approved a plan to broaden France’s exit tax for large digital-asset holders. Under the proposal, investors holding more than 800,000 euros in digital assets who had been French tax residents for at least six of the past 10 years would be taxed on unrealized gains if they moved abroad.

However, because the entire revenue section of the budget bill was rejected, neither amendment will automatically advance to the full chamber. To revive the tax measures, lawmakers would have to resubmit the amendments during floor debate. France’s National Assembly is due to begin reviewing the revenue section on October 13, with a vote scheduled for October 20.