The Iranian government has instituted a new law that does not accept crypto as legal tender or recognize domestic transactions carried out with cryptocurrencies. On Aug. 4, the Cabinet of Iran ratified and released a new bill saying that the government will not recognize any domestic trading activity involving cryptos, Iranian news agency PressTV reports today. Per the report, the new bill says that the government and the banking system will not view digital coins as legal tender, and Iran’s central bank will not guarantee their value. The new bill follows comments from the deputy governor of Iran’s central bank, …

The G-20 Summit in Japan brought 20 finance ministers and central bank governors to officially commit to implementing the guidelines of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The lack of regulation in the crypto markets can be fertile ground for money laundering, terrorist financing, tax evasion, etc. Therefore, it is not surprising why the FATF guidelines are calling for the end of anonymity in the crypto market. In fact, after the G-20’s determination to comply with the FATF standards, we are soon going to see their implementation around the world, and crypto users will be required to put aside their …

Beginning today, Aug. 1, Brazil citizens are obligated to report on their crypto transactions with the country’s tax authority, the Department of Federal Revenue (RFB). Entities in Brazil must report on all kinds of crypto transactions As Cointelegraph Brazil reports today, transactions involving cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) must be reported to the RFB in accordance with rules established by Normative Instruction 1,888 introduced in May 2019. As reported by national public news agency Agência Brasil, the new measure applies to individuals, companies and brokerages, and includes all kinds of crypto-related activities, including buying and selling, as well as donations, …

Singapore’s plans to exempt certain digital currencies from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) would benefit cryptocurrency-related businesses, according to a partner in PwC Hong Kong’s corporate tax practice. As reported by Hong Kong’s English language newspaper South China Morning Post on July 29, Gwenda Ho argued that the Singapore government’s proposal to drop the seven per cent GST for cryptocurrencies when using them to pay for goods and services would have a positive impact on crypto exchanges, asset managers and blockchain entrepreneurs. Per Ho, the adoption of the proposed law would also put Singapore’s sales tax regime on an …

Society is now witnessing the implementation of digital currencies, AI and blockchain technology worldwide. These new digital technologies, necessitate very high consumption of electric energy, currently produced with coal and fossil fuels with adverse environmental effects. A global shift towards green energy will require the removal of the technological/infrastructure, financial and regulatory/tax policy barriers. In a series of articles, we will evaluate the tax, digital technology and solar policies (including space power satellites) of the top CO2 emitting countries. The United States is at the forefront of blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) technology adoption — both the government and private …

The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is sending letters to crypto investors to clarify crypto tax filing requirements and, in certain cases, compel them to pay back taxes. The IRS announced its letter campaign in a press release on July 26. The IRS states that it has sent letters to 10,000 crypto investors, asking some to amend their tax filings, while compelling others to pay back taxes and/or interest and penalties. The revenue service states that the letters should be delivered by the end of August. Per today’s announcement there are three different letters: Letter 6173, Letter 6174 or …

The head of a major Brazilian trade association, the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP), said that Brazilians could start using crypto to evade taxes. Paulo Skaf, the president of the FIESP, expressed concern over the recent tax reform proposal by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Cointelegraph Brazil reports on July 25. He reportedly warned that the new tax system could force citizens to use crypto such as Bitcoin (BTC) for tax evasion purposes. In a recent interview with local newspaper Folha de São Paulo, Skaf criticized the upcoming tax reform, calling it a mistake that would …

United States Congressman Tom Emmer has reintroduced his Safe Harbor for Taxpayers with Forked Assets bill, according to a press release published July 9. The reintroduced version of the bill appears to have been published on July 3, based on the date printed within the document. Emmer initially announced plans for the Forked Assets bill in 2018 as a means to simplify tax laws pertaining to assets held on blockchains with hard forks. A hard fork on a blockchain splits the chain in two, with one path following the original protocol and another path diverging with different features. The new …

The United States’ Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is allegedly considering requiring tech giants to report on crypto activity by users, according to a presentation reportedly from an IRS presentation and provided by a Twitter user on July 9. According to the documents shared, the IRS hopes to use Grand Jury subpoenas on firms such as Apple, Google and Microsoft to check taxpayers’ download history for crypto-related applications. Known as Crypto Tax Girl, Laura Walter, certified public accountant and crypto tax specialist, tweeted the presentation, which was allegedly for agents in the IRS’s Criminal Investigation division. Citing the document, Walter concluded …

Singapore plans to exempt cryptocurrencies that are intended to function as a medium of exchange from Goods and Services Tax (GST) — the local equivalent of Value-Added Tax (VAT). The news was revealed in a draft e-tax guide published by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) on July 5. The proposed exemption, if accepted, is set to take effect on January 1, 2020, and will overhaul the current system wherein the supply of digital payment tokens is treated as a taxable supply of services. IRAS outlines that until now, cryptocurrencies that function — or are intended to do so …

Robert W. Wood is a tax lawyer representing clients worldwide from the offices at Wood LLP in San Francisco. He is the author of numerous tax books and writes frequently about taxes for Forbes, Tax Notes and other publications. The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. This discussion should not be regarded as legal advice. The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) treats Bitcoin and other cryptos as property. That means each property transfer can trigger taxes, with a tax hit to both the recipient and …

Canadian businessman and TV personality Kevin O'Leary said that cryptocurrencies pose serious compliance challenges to the financial services industry. During an interview published on July 3, O’Leary said that he would not invest or get involved in cryptocurrencies because of their purportedly unregulated nature: “If I want to be compliant and I don’t wanna breach any regulators because I’m a participant in financial services globally, and that is where the majority of money is, [...] I have to be compliant, I have no interest in doing any of this crypto crap because it is not compliant.” O’Leary suggested a hypothetical …