Nicolae Iorga street, 2/1,
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postal code: 540088
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e-mail: redactie@revcurentjur.ro
Year: 2025
Issue: 4
Volume: 103
Author Names: Ede JÓZSA/Éva ERDŐS
Abstract: The study examines the tax regulation of income derived from crypto-assets in Hungary and Romania through a comparative legal analysis, with particular emphasis on the European Union’s harmonisation efforts – most notably the MiCA Regulation and the DAC8 Directive. Its objective is to explore how the two national tax systems integrate decentralised crypto-assets lacking a traditional issuer into existing legal categories, and to identify the differences that arise in income classification, cost accounting, social contribution obligations, and administrative requirements. Hungarian law, which since 2022 has treated income from crypto-asset transactions conducted outside the scope of economic activity as a distinct tax-law category, applies a uniform 15% personal income tax rate, provides full exemption from social security and social contribution charges, and sets out detailed rules on deductible costs and loss management. By contrast, Romanian legislation classifies such income under the general category of “income from other sources,” imposes a 10% income tax, requires extensive documentation, and obliges taxpayers to pay health insurance contributions above a statutory income threshold; insufficient documentation may trigger a punitive 70% tax rate for income of unidentified origin. The comparative analysis demonstrates that the Hungarian regulatory model is coherent, codified, and contains explicit incentive elements, making it more readily adaptable to EU transparency requirements, particularly those introduced by DAC8. Romania’s framework, although introduced earlier, is more pragmatic and less detailed, leading to uncertainties in legal application and higher administrative burdens on taxpayers. The study concludes that EU-level regulatory developments are expected to intensify harmonisation pressures, necessitating further refinement of national rules concerning the tax treatment of crypto-assets. De lege ferenda recommendations include the establishment of a unified EU-level conceptual framework, the clarification of national cost-accounting rules, and the introduction of electronic record-keeping systems to support compliant taxpayer behaviour.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.62838/cjjc-2024-0063
Pages: 75-93