Bitcoin News Today: France's Tax Dilemma: Penalizing Crypto While Stockpiling Bitcoin

France is reshaping its tax landscape with a dual approach targeting both ultra-wealthy individuals and digital assets, as lawmakers reject a proposed wealth tax on the richest while advancing a new levy on "unproductive wealth," including cryptocurrencies. The National Assembly's recent votes highlight deepening political divisions and a strategic shift in how the country defines taxable assets.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu's government faced significant opposition from left-wing and right-wing factions over its 2026 budget proposals. A 2% wealth tax on fortunes exceeding 100 million euros, championed by economist Gabriel Zucman, was soundly rejected after centrist, conservative, and far-right lawmakers formed a majority against it. Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure criticized the government for shielding the ultra-rich, while Lecornu defended his stance, warning that the Zucman tax could trigger a mass exodus of high-net-worth taxpayers and harm economic growth, according to a Marketscreener report.

Instead, the government has pivoted to a narrower tax on assets held in holding companies deemed "unproductive," which lawmakers approved in a diluted form. This 2% levy targets around 4,000 such entities, which critics argue exist primarily to minimize tax liability. Budget Minister Amelie de Montchalin emphasized the need to balance fiscal fairness with economic stability, cautioning against measures that could deter investment, according to a Bloomberg Law report.

Meanwhile, France's parliament has taken a bold step to integrate cryptocurrencies into its wealth tax framework. A 1% tax on "unproductive wealth" exceeding 2 million euros-including crypto holdings-was narrowly passed in the National Assembly on October 22, backed by an unusual coalition of centrists, socialists, and far-right deputies. The amendment, introduced by centrist MP Jean-Paul Matteï, reclassifies digital assets as idle capital alongside luxury items like yachts and fine art, aiming to incentivize investment in productive sectors, according to a Coinotag article.

The move has sparked fierce backlash from the crypto industry. Éric Larchevêque, co-founder of Ledger, a leading crypto wallet provider, criticized the policy as an ideological attack on decentralized assets, arguing that it "punishes savers who wish to anchor their finances in gold or Bitcoin." He warned that holders might be forced to liquidate assets to meet tax obligations and expressed concern that the threshold could be lowered in future legislation, broadening the tax's reach, as reported by Cryptopolitan.

The amendment faces further hurdles as it moves to the Senate, where lawmakers may refine its scope. If enacted, it would replace the current real estate wealth tax (IFI) with a broader system, marking a significant evolution in how France treats digital assets. However, the policy's dual approach-taxing private crypto holdings while separately proposing to accumulate 420,000 BTC as a national reserve-reflects a conflicted stance toward the technology, according to a CryptoSlate article.

The proposed Bitcoin reserve, championed by right-wing lawmakers, envisions France acquiring 2% of Bitcoin's total supply over seven to eight years through state-funded mining and seized assets. This contrasts sharply with the unproductive wealth tax, which frames crypto as a non-essential luxury. While the reserve bill remains unlikely to pass in its current form, it underscores growing political interest in Bitcoin as a strategic asset, a point also discussed by CryptoSlate.

As France navigates these competing visions, the unproductive wealth tax amendment highlights a broader global trend of expanding digital asset regulation. Critics argue the policy risks driving crypto activity to more favorable jurisdictions, while proponents view it as a necessary step to modernize tax frameworks. With the Senate's final vote pending, the fate of these measures-and their impact on France's economic and technological trajectory-remains uncertain, according to a TheCoinrise article.