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.com. This discussion should not be regarded as legal advice. Bitcoin and other crypto prices have recently been highly volatile. If you are holding bitcoin or other crypto, you may well not want to sell until the market recovers, when it …

The captains regent of the Republic of San Marino, Nicola Selva and Michele Muratori, have issued a governmental decree on blockchain tech for businesses, according to a recent document. The new decree outlines procedures for registering a blockchain-based organization with the “Istituto per l’Innovazione della Repubblica di San Marino,” or San Marino Innovation Institute. According to the decree, blockchain-based organizations in the Republic of San Marino, the EU, or any country not classified as “high risk” and also considered relevant to the purview of San Marino legislation, may apply for registration with the institute. The institute sets out to provide …

United States Congressman (R-N.C.) Ted Budd testified to the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee on purported issues with current tax laws on cryptocurrencies, as per a video of the testimony released on June 4. Congressman Budd argued that cryptocurrencies should have a de minimis tax exemption like foreign currencies. Budd commented that he cosponsored bill H.R.3708, or the “Cryptocurrency Tax Fairness Act,” which would extend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat personal cryptocurrency purchases like personal transactions in foreign currency, which are not taxed. Budd highlighted the fact that, since the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers …

Australia’s tax agency, the Australian Tax Office (ATO), is investigating 12 major international tax avoidance schemes, with a key focus on cryptocurrency-enabled activities. The news was reported by local broadsheet The Sydney Morning Herald on June 6. The ATO’s intensified cross-border investigations were reportedly revealed following a meeting of the J5 — also known as “The Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement.” As previously reported, the J5 is an international taskforce of tax enforcement authorities from Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. It was established in July 2018 in a bid to tackle cryptocurrency- and …

Japan-based entities have failed to report their crypto gains valued at 10 billion yen ($93 million) over the past several years by March 2019, local national newspaper Asahi Shimbun reports on June 5. According to Asahi, about 30 crypto-related businesses and 50 individuals have not declared their revenues from cryptocurrency trading as of March, allegedly due to a high tax on this type of income. To date, Japanese tax regulators reportedly consider crypto-related revenues as miscellaneous income, which is taxed at 55%. In accordance with the current law, local entities who earn more than 200,000 yen ($1,850) in such income …

Belarus’ general prosecutor has raised concerns about the role cryptocurrency could be playing in tax evasion, local daily news outlet TUT.by reported on June 4. Speaking as Belarus hosted the International Prosecutors Association’s regional conference, Aleksandr Konyuk said the time had come for all attendants’ authorities to study cryptocurrency use. Belarus had become one of the first countries in the area to create formal legislation around bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies, declaring them legal in 2017. “The relevance of cybercrime is obvious,” he told the conference, which saw representation from Russia, Georgia, Moldova, Poland, Kazakhstan and Latvia. Konyuk continued: “Multiple …

Between May 23 and 26, 2019, the European Union’s citizens are renewing their continental parliament. Among the countries that will participate in the poles is Italy (voting on May 26) — one of the founding members of the EU, alongside France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. Due to the very nature of cryptocurrencies, it's tough to get a correct figure of the actual penetration of these technologies in a single country. However, relying on some proxies — as in the chart below — it is likely that the Bel Paese (the Beautiful Country) would fall outside the leading European group. …

An Israeli judge has ruled that bitcoin (BTC) is an asset and not a currency, local news site Globes reported on May 21. The judgment is significant because it means profits made by selling the cryptocurrency will now be liable to capital gains tax, Globes notes. Noam Copel, who founded the blockchain startup DAV, had bought BTC in 2011 and sold two years later — making a profit of $2.9 million at today’s rates. During the court case, he had argued that bitcoin should be regarded as a foreign currency, as fluctuations in exchange rates are not taxed. But the …

The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has prioritized issuing tax guidance on cryptocurrencies, according to a May 16 letter. The letter from the IRS comes in response to a request from 21 representatives in Congress, including Rep. Tom Emmer, to provide clarity on reporting taxes on cryptocurrency holdings. In the letter to the tax authority, the representatives then claimed that there is still “substantial ambiguity on a number of important questions about the federal taxation” of the emerging type of asset. In the new addressed to Emmer, IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig stated that the agency “made it a priority” …

Cryptocurrency payment services firm BitPay has partnered with tax-related financial products company Refundo to enable people to get a portion of their tax refund back in bitcoin (BTC). The development was announced in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on April 30. Refundo’s new product dubbed CoinRT allows taxpayers to receive all or a portion of the federal and state tax refunds in BTC through BitPay’s Payouts, purportedly ensuring low transaction fees, speed, and serving the underbanked. To start using the platform, taxpayers need to create an account, provide a bitcoin wallet address, and receive a unique routing and account …

Australia’s tax agency, the Australian Tax Office (ATO), will seek to contact cryptocurrency traders personally about tax issues as part of a new data collection scheme, officials confirmed in a statement on April 30. The ATO, which is working in conjunction with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), says it will demand information on operations from local cryptocurrency exchanges. That data will then be used to contact traders involved, who will get a minimum of 28 days to explain their operations as they pertain to capital gains tax reporting. “The …

International tobacco company Philip Morris is considering blockchain use in tracking tax stamps on cigarette boxes, the firm’s spokesperson confirmed to Cointelegraph on April 26. Philip Morris International is looking to implement emerging technologies such as blockchain in order to improve the efficiency, transparency and cost effectiveness of its business, the company’s representative said in an email to Cointelegraph. Specifically, Nitin Manoharan, Philip Morris’ global head of architecture and tech innovation, has recently estimated that Philip Morris alone could save up to $20 million by reducing tax stamp paperwork and fraud with blockchain, according to crypto industry news outlet CoinDesk. …