National Constituent Assembly (ANC) member Gerson Hernández announced on January 24 that the ruling party Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV) is planning to present the ANC with a bill taxing dollar, euro and cryptocurrency transactions, but not applicable to to the cryptocurrency Petro. Further details of the measure are expected in the coming weeks.

According to Hernandez, the bill would require vendors, and goods and services providers to issue a receipt indicating the currency in which the purchase was made so that the tax may be applied to the transaction. By exempting the Petro from the tax, the PSUV would be encouraging its use in daily transactions, in line with the objectives set by Nicolás Maduro’s administration.

The measure is to be applied amid growing dollarization in Venezuela, as hyperinflation and the constant devaluation of the national currency (the sovereign bolivar), mean that Venezuelans are using dollars to purchase goods and services. Maduro’s opposition estimates that more than 50% of transactions performed at national level in 2019 were carried out in dollars, and this year, the figure could exceed 70%.