This article was published on January 14, 2019

Danish regulators go after Bitcoin trader’s unpaid tax


Danish regulators go after Bitcoin trader’s unpaid tax

Cryptocurrency traders in Denmark will be facing increased scrutiny.

It comes after the country’s tax agency was granted permission to begin collecting data relating to cryptocurrency trades made through three exchanges between 2016 and 2018.

A statement published on the agency’s website says this is the first time the Tax Authority has been granted access to this information.

As a result, exchanges will need to provide information including traders’ names, addresses, total trade amount made in fiat and virtual currency, fees paid, and personal tax numbers. However, the information sharing may not be welcomed by bitcoin enthusiast, who fervently defend the cryptocurrency’s pseudo-anonymous nature.

The <3 of EU tech

The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!

Cited in the statement, personal tax director Karin Bergen said: “With the permission of the Danish Tax Council, we will for the first time gain access to the trades made via the Danish stock exchanges. This gives us completely new opportunities in relation to control in the area.”

“Without going too far, I think one can say that this is a big market that we need to look at more closely,” Bergen added.

The agency is already in contact with the relevant cryptocurrency exchanges and a decision on taxation is expected to be made before the Summer.

Today’s news comes after the Danish tax authorities received a tip-off from their Finnish counterpart in December last year.

At the time, authorities were made aware that approximately 2,700 Danes traded cryptocurrencies in an unnamed Finnish exchange, but failed to declare any profits or losses.

The trades, made from 2015 to 2017, are believed to have amounted to $15 million (100 million DKK).

Get the TNW newsletter

Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.

Also tagged with


Published
Back to top