13. October 2021 Like many other authorities, the OECD takes a critical view of developments in crypto. From their point of view, the rapid development and globally increasing use of alternative means of investment and payment leads to significant tax evasion, avoidance and fraud risks. As a result, the Council of the European Union sees the progress already made in tax transparency at risk. With the new reporting obligation under DAC-8, the EU Commission wants to counter this. This article on the taxation of crypto-assets is therefore now all about this new notification, which is likely to come quickly – after all, the adoption of the corresponding amending directive is still planned for this year.
What the reporting requirement provides
With the 8th amendment to the EU Mutual Assistance Directive (DAC 8), the EU Commission aims to introduce reporting requirements for crypto assets and e-money as part of the Action Plan for Fair and Effective Taxation. In addition to preventing tax evasion and fraud, this initiative is also intended to ensure that EU regulations keep pace with current economic developments. So far, fundamental questions in connection with the future reporting obligation have not yet been clarified, but in line with the systematics of the EU Mutual Assistance Directive, it can be expected that the questions of “what” and “who” (intermediary) is subject to the reporting obligation will be clarified. However, it remains to be seen what the final content of the DAC-8 Directive will be and when it will be implemented.
What is desirable
In view of the attractiveness of Europe as a business location, the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality should play an important role in the final design of the reporting obligation. Furthermore, a clear definition and differentiation of those crypto-assets that are to be reported seems necessary, especially with regard to the granting of legal certainty and in the absence of uniform EU-wide regulations so far. Finally, the consideration of rapid technological developments within the framework of such a definition would also be expedient in order to also cover future developments in the area of crypto-assets and e-money in a legislative manner and thus also ensure legal certainty in the future.
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