Taxes
Portsmouth embraces Bitcoin payments for city bills
In an effort to embrace virtual money, the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, will allow residents to pay their bills in Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies. Deaglan McEachern, the city’s mayor, proposed the idea to city officials, who feel it will provide residents with more payment choices. As per a local news report from Seacoastonline on March 23, Mayor McEachern said that “there are waves of new things that will affect us in terms of our future that use the type of technology used in cryptocurrency.” He went on to say: “I want to make sure Portsmouth is not waiting around to see how this is going to affect us in the future because it’s already affecting us.” McEachern said the City Hall has learned a lot more about cryptocurrencies and blo...
How to navigate cryptocurrency tax implications amidst the CPA shortage
Cryptocurrency is a hot topic worldwide, especially with prices of Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and other cryptocurrencies hitting higher thresholds and resulting in another banner year for investors. While the earnings look good on paper, one factor is often left to consider –– that is, crypto taxes. It is not uncommon for traders to take advantage of the constant fluctuations, buy the dip, sell the uptrend, and repeat it frequently. Unfortunately, each transaction is considered a taxable event, making the conversation about cryptocurrency taxes a daunting one. The impending crackdown on cryptocurrency taxation only spurs on the need to start the conversation. This crackdown is far from recent, with 2021 headlines of an IRS chief stating the country was losing trillions of dollars in unp...
Georgia lawmakers consider giving crypto miners tax exemptions in new bill
Five members of the Georgia House of Representatives have introduced a bill that would exempt local crypto miners from paying sales and use tax. On Monday, Georgia Representatives Don Parsons, Todd Jones, Katie Dempsey, Heath Clark, and Kasey Carpenter introduced HB 1342, a bill which has yet to be titled. The legislation proposes to amend the state tax code “to exempt the sale or use of electricity used in the commercial mining of digital assets” and would likely only apply to commercial miners operating in a facility of at least 75,000 square feet — roughly 6,968 square meters. The proposed bill is the latest in the series of state-level measures aiming to encourage crypto miners to set up shop. In January, Illinois lawmakers introduced a bill which would extend tax incentives for data c...
Simple math says Russia could collect up to $13B in crypto tax each year
The Russian government is expected to collect up to 1 trillion rubles ($13 billion) in crypto tax each year, as per an estimation by the authorities. The Bell, a local Russian publication, reportedly got its hands on the government analytic note that estimated the yearly tax revenue. According to the letter’s authors, Russians hold 12% or nearly $214 billion in crypto. The number of users on foreign exchanges is estimated to be about 10 million, added with the significant number of over-the-counter (OTC) crypto trades. The government agency believes even the most straightforward tax imposition can generate anywhere from 146 billion rubles to 1 trillion in crypto tax revenue. The note suggests two possible taxation methods: One for the crypto platforms such as exchanges, int...
Law Decoded: Tangible wins, new menaces and the global crypto taxation drive, Feb. 1–7
Every global event or major political crisis these days can trigger a digital asset-related conversation. As China welcomes the world’s top athletes to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, showing off ultra-high-tech facilities and sports infrastructure, some United States politicians have raised concerns over the Games’ potential to act as a booster to the digital yuan’s adoption. In neighboring Myanmar, the military government that had overthrown the nation’s elected leadership a year ago is now looking into launching its own digital currency, not to project economic influence but to improve the domestic payments system and the struggling economy more broadly. Below is the concise version of the latest “Law Decoded” newsletter. For the full breakdown of policy developments over the las...
Venezuelans reportedly hit by new Bitcoin tax of up to 20%
The Venezuelan government has approved a new tax bill aiming to collect up to 20% in taxes from cryptocurrency transactions, according to local reports. Venezuela’s National Assembly held a second discussion session on Thursday for a new draft bill targeting taxes on “large financial transactions” in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). The Venezuelan government reportedly approved the draft bill last Thursday, requiring local firms and individuals to pay up to 20% for operations carried out in cryptocurrencies as well as foreign currencies such as the United States dollar. Filed on Jan. 20, the draft law aims to collect 2%–20% from transactions in any currencies other than those issued by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, or the Venezuelan bolivar and the country’s oil-backe...
US lawmakers reintroduce bill to stop IRS from taxing crypto transactions under $200
A bill previously introduced by Washington Representative Suzan DelBene aims to exempt crypto users from paying taxes on transactions under $200. According to a Tuesday draft of the Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act of 2022, Washington Representative Suzan DelBene is seeking to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude gains from certain personal transactions of virtual currency. If signed into law, the bill could stop the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, from requiring U.S. filers to pay taxes on capital gains from crypto transactions of $200 or more. “Antiquated regulations around virtual currency do not take into account its potential for use in our daily lives, instead treating it more like a stock or ETF,” said DelBene. “Virtual currency has evolved rapidly in the past few y...
Crypto tax doesn’t legalize trading, says Indian tax department chief
The head of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in India said the recent announcement of a 30% tax on crypto holdings doesn’t necessarily make the crypto trade legal in India. The finance minister of India announced a 30% tax on crypto holdings during the budget session on Feb. 1, triggering several headlines on the lines of “India legalizes crypto” However, CBDT chief JB Mohapatra aimed to debunk these misconceptions. Mohaptra in a post-budget presser said that the new crypto tax would help the income tax department measure the depth of the digital currency market in the country. He also stressed that imposing a tax on the nascent crypto market doesn’t necessarily legalize its trade in the country. He explained: “The crypto trade or the digital assets transactions do not ipso facto b...
Crypto taxation could deter investors, says Thai ruling party MP
Thailand’s Committee on Monetary Affairs, Finance, Financial Institutions and Financial Market conducted a virtual meeting to discuss various aspects of crypto taxation. The ruling party MP Watanya Wongopasi posted a summary of the discussion on her Facebook page and urged the Excise department to do their due diligence before imposing any tax on the crypto trading market. In the meeting, Paiboon Nalinthrangkurn, the chairman of the Federation of Thai Capital Market Organisations noted that a tax on stock trading and digital asset trading could decrease market liquidity by 40%. He also warned that heavy taxation would deter foreign and small investors from trading. Yutthana Srisavat, the CEO and founder of iTax proposed a corporate tax or a value-added tax instead of imposing a trading tax...
Crypto-focused software firm Lukka raises $110M, reaches $1.3B valuation
Cryptocurrency accounting and data company Lukka said it had raised $110 million in a new funding round led by hedge fund giant Marshall Wace. In a Friday announcement, Lukka said it had completed a $110 million Series E funding round led by Marshall Wace, with participation from Soros Fund Management — a fund created by billionaire investor George Soros, Liberty City Ventures, S&P Global, and accounting advisor CPA.com. Lukka said it planned to use the funds for “aggressive growth and global expansion strategy” with its current customer base dealing in derivatives, decentralized finance and other products related to the crypto space. Lukka CEO Robert Materazzi said the crypto ecosystem had entered a “new phase of maturity,” with the firm aiming to address challenges from innovati...
Indian taxman recovers $6.62M from WazirX for evading tax on commission
Indian crypto exchange WazirX has reportedly paid over $6.6 million (49.2 crore rupees) following non-payment of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on trade commissions. The total recovery includes the pending tax of $5.43 million (40.5 crore rupees), the interest and a penalty for non-payment. Government officials from the Central GST and Central Excise committee (CGST Mumbai Zone) recovered the funds from the crypto exchange after detecting a GST evasion of $5.43 million on the commissions. A typical GST fraud involves creating fake invoices without actually moving the goods between the seller and the buyer. Officers of CGST Mumbai East comm’te have detected GST Evasion of Rs 40.5 Cr. on commission of Wazir X Crypto Currency & recovered Rs 49.2 Cr. in cash as GST, interest & Pena...
Spreading holiday joy through charitable giving with cryptocurrency
The holidays are the perfect time of the year for giving back, and the rise of cryptocurrencies has created even more opportunities for charitable initiatives. This was highlighted during Giving Tuesday 2021, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving which saw over $2.4 million raised in cryptocurrency from the nonprofit fundraising platform The Giving Block. As crypto philanthropy becomes a new subsector of the cryptocurrency economy, some in the industry believe that crypto donations will only continue to increase. Alex Wilson, co-founder of The Giving Block, told Cointelegraph that last year the organization raised about $4 million in crypto donations, noting that this year, over $100 million in crypto donations will likely be received. According to Wilson, this growth is partly due to the fact th...
