320,000 tax notices sent as unreported crypto taxes rise 40%
As the global crypto market becomes saturated, some have begun to sneak out of reporting taxes. However, according to the latest report, the Spanish tax authorities want to fish out these people by sending out notices.
On April 11, local media published El Mundo reported that the Spanish tax agency will issue 328,000 notices to individuals who owe tax on their cryptocurrency holdings for the 2022 financial year.
Unreported crypto taxes rise by 40% in a year
According to the report, these pending notices to be sent represent a 40% increase from the 150,000 notices issued the previous year, and a significant jump from the 15,000 notices issued the year before.
Although the focus has been on cryptocurrency, the agency will also issue alerts for other tax-related issues. Thousands of alerts higher than those sent out to crypto holders will be sent out.
Related reading: How Spain could force crypto holders to reveal their funds
For example, this year alone over 660,000 notices will be issued to those who have underreported their rental income, while over 807,000 will be issued to people earning income from abroad.
In particular, the messages to be sent are seen as voluntary invitations to pay taxes on profits made by selling crypto holdings. This varies from 19% to 23%. However, failure to pay tax on time will result in a fine of 26%, calculated on the basis of the amount of funds that have not yet been paid.
Spain’s stance on crypto
While some countries are still far from exploiting the crypto potential, Spain is one of the countries that has embraced crypto in a remarkable way. According to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), almost 7% of Spain’s population holds cryptocurrencies.
The majority of holders’ ages, which range from 35 to 44, have either a higher stable income or a higher education that earns them at least more than €3,000 (around $3,300) in a month. In addition, Spain claims 3rd place in crypto ATM growth with over 200 installed ATMs
Related reading: Bank of Spain: Cryptocurrency can improve monetary policy
The AEAT’s decision to step up its efforts to collect taxes from cryptocurrency owners comes amid an increase in the use of cryptocurrencies worldwide. Governments and financial regulators are keeping a closer eye on the crypto sector.
Some countries have been straining to strike down on the industry, while others take steps to regulate it more closely. Spain has shown interest in blockchain technology, with the country’s the central bank approves a euro-linked token pilot as part of the sandbox initiative.
As the use of cryptocurrencies continues to grow, it is expected that more regulatory actions will be taken by governments worldwide to ensure that the sector is appropriately taxed and regulated.
Regardless of the various news circulating in the industry, the global crypto market has remained calm. Over the past 24 hours, the global crypto market capitalization has fallen by just 0.4%, at the time of writing with a value approaching $1.3 trillion.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView
