Written by Pieter Baert (1st edition).
The crypto-asset sector, while still relatively new, has already changed the world of payments and investment forever. The fast-changing, mobile nature of the sector and its growing market prominence poses challenges, however, for tax authorities, which are not always able to track the capital gains made from trading crypto-assets.
On 8 December 2022, the European Commission proposed to set up a reporting framework which would require crypto-asset service providers to report transactions made by EU clients. This would help tax authorities to track the trade of crypto-assets and the proceeds gained, thereby reducing the risk of tax fraud and evasion. The reporting framework would be set-up by amending the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC), which is the main framework for other data exchanges between tax authorities. The proposal also puts forward a series of (smaller) changes to improve the existing exchange of tax-related information.
The proposed directive is subject to a special legislative procedure, requiring unanimous support in the Council, following consultation of the European Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee.