Australia Targets Crypto User Data in Broad Tax Crackdown

• Australia has intensified its crackdown on crypto tax.
• The country’s tax watchdog switched enforcement gears recently.
• The watchdog sought crypto users’ personal data.  

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has reportedly asked crypto exchanges to provide them with the personal data of over 1 million accounts to crack down on tax evasion.

The development follows ATO’s update on its capital gains tax guidance last year, which includes wrapped tokens and decentralized finance (DeFi). In the new rules, the tax watchdog warned crypto investors to report capital gains and losses every time a digital asset is sold.

ATO Jumps the Gun and Pursues User Data

According to a May 7 Reuters report , ATO is hunting for personal data and transaction details of up to 1.2 million accounts registered in crypto exchanges to identify traders who failed to report the exchange or sale of digital assets.

ATO has sought wide-ranging personal information, including the date of birth, social media accounts, phone numbers, wallet addresses, transaction details like bank accounts, and the type of digital assets held by users.

While the move is a non-binding tax office guidance demonstrating ATO’s interpretation of the law, it could potentially have an unsettling impact on Australian crypto users.

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For instance, ATO held that users can trigger a capital gains event if they wrap or unwrap a crypto asset or exchange one digital asset for another. This could potentially extend tax enforcement to everyday token transfers to centralized exchanges.

In the meantime, the latest development continues the ATO’s recent efforts to improve the identification of crypto assets subject to taxation. It comes after the tax watchdog partnered with Indonesia’s Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) on April 22 to “strengthen” the crypto tax system in both countries.

Read about Australia’s position on crypto use in non-cash payments:
Australia Clarifies Crypto Use in Non-Cash Payment Facilities

Stay updated on Australia’s ambition to become a crypto hub:
Australia Mulls Bitcoin ETF to Bolster Crypto Hub Ambitions