Crypto Providers Would Have to Swap Transaction Details Under OECD Tax-Dodging Proposal

Details of overseas crypto holdings would be shared with home tax authorities under the planned extension of rules intended to bust financial secrecy.

Mar 22, 2022 at 1:57 p.m. UTC

Updated Mar 22, 2022 at 3:14 p.m. UTC

Jack Schickler is a CoinDesk reporter focused on crypto regulations, based in Brussels, Belgium. He doesn’t own any crypto.

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Crypto exchanges would have to share details about the identity and transactions of their users with foreign tax authorities under plans submitted for stakeholder comment Tuesday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which is seeking to avoid foreign digital assets being used to hide wealth.

There's a "significant risk" that overseas stashes of digital assets could undermine existing requirements to share details of foreign bank accounts, intended to stop tax evasion and illicit finance, the OECD said in a consultation open until the end of April.
The proposals say crypto providers would have to share their users' names, addresses, Social Security numbers and details of transactions both between crypto and fiat and between different kinds of digital assets. Exchanges would also have to check the tax residences of new users and would be given 12 months to figure that out for existing clients.
The rules would also apply to both offline "cold" wallets and hot ones, as well as to services like crypto ATMs. But the OECD said it wants to exclude people simply validating blockchain transactions, as well as "closed loop" assets like vouchers used in a particular store. Potential new central bank digital currencies and other kinds of electronic money would be included under existing data-swapping rules, under the plans
The OECD says it will complete the rules based on peoples' comments and will update the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations in October.
The move comes as tax authorities across the world attempt to clarify the liability of crypto holdings and international standard-setter Financial Action Task Force (FATF) seeks to stop anonymous accounts being used to launder money or fund terrorism.

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