Australia targets crypto exchanges to hand over tax data on 1.2m users

Australia’s tax office is targeting up to 1.2 million users, seeking their personal data and transaction details from crypto exchange.

Australia appears to be targeting over a million crypto investors, seeking their personal data and transaction details from crypto exchanges, as Reuters has learned, citing a notice issued in April by the Australian Taxation Office.

According to the report, the tax office is targeting up to 1.2 million accounts, in a bid to combat potential tax evasion amid a surge in interest in crypto. In the notice, the tax watchdog said the ability to purchase crypto assets using fake information “may make them attractive to those seeking to avoid their tax obligation.”

While the list of exchanges targeted by Australian regulators remains undisclosed, the report notes that the tax agency has requested information encompassing personal details like dates of birth, phone numbers, and social media profiles.

Additionally, transaction particulars including bank account information, wallet addresses, and crypto types also appear to be under scrutiny. Australia taxes crypto as assets rather than foreign currency, meaning investors are liable to pay capital gains tax on profits from selling or trading these assets. The tax rate varies depending on the capital gains, while income earned from disposing of crypto held for longer than 12 months is eligible for a 50% discount.

The latest move comes a few weeks after Indonesia and Australia’s tax officials signed an agreement in Jakarta to establish a crypto information-sharing framework. The agreement aims to improve the identification of assets that may be taxed in either country. Australia is also working with other countries to make a plan called the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), aimed at helping share information about crypto transactions automatically. The goal is to have a standard way to tax cryptocurrencies worldwide.