The Spanish tax agency has included crypto as part of its new guidelines for this year’s upcoming tax collection season. In addition to boosting channels for voluntary tax applications, the agency will boost the investigation of cryptocurrency in digital payments, including the possible seizure of cryptocurrency associated with tax debts and criminal activity.
The Spanish Tax Agency will intensify the tax supervision of cryptocurrencies
The Spanish tax agency is preparing its crypto strategy for the upcoming tax collection season. On February 27, the agency revealed various guidelines to increase the collection of taxes related to the use of cryptocurrencies in digital payments, and also to curb criminal activity.
In the document, the agency declares that “this year the intention of the collection area to promote actions to locate crypto assets subject to embargo is underlined.” This could mean that tax debtors will be tracked down and their cryptocurrency seized to make amends for their debts. However, the document does not offer any further details on how the agency intends to do this, or the tools it will use for this purpose.
In the same way, the institution indicates that it will develop “an investigation plan associated with the use of cryptocurrencies in the field of the digital economy in order to detect assets whose origin may be linked to criminal activities.”
Crypto in the crosshairs
These new movements are aimed at reinforcing the surveillance exercised by the Spanish Tax Agency on crypto assets, with the aim of increasing collection.
Other tax agencies around the world are also including digital and cryptocurrency wallets as an important part of their investigation and seizure processes. For example, the Argentine tax authority has been able to seize funds from digital wallets since February 2022, when the organization included this type of structure, very popular in Argentina, as part of the assets subject to seizure.
However, the Spanish tax agency has historically not been as successful in targeting the growing cryptocurrency investment crowd. Reports indicate that he only managed to warn 5.3% of cryptocurrency investors in the country about their duty to pay crypto taxes in 2022.
This means that the agency did not contact more than 4 million cryptocurrency investors regarding their cryptocurrency tax obligations. Some of these cryptocurrency holders don’t even know they have to declare these assets, according to local analysts.
What do you think about the actions of the Spanish tax agency regarding the collection of crypto taxes? Tell us in the comment section below.
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