SARS To Track Tax Returns on Crypto Transactions

BTC Wires: The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is now attempting to enhance the process of tracking crypto traders and their transactions to make sure they’re not evading taxes. According to the commissioner of the body, they are trying to find out better ways to find out whether any parties are unlawfully benefiting from digital asset trading and whether or not they are paying taxes correctly.

The SARS is now exploring these ways of identifying fraudulent and tax-evading traders as correctly as possible, as identification is key to the whole process, Mark Kingston, the acting Commissioner, reportedly said. While a conference organized by the Institute of Internal Auditors was going on in Sandton this week, Kingston further commented that the identification process is of prime importance but it’s easier said than done. Besides, since most traders use their credit cards to purchase virtual assets, the SARS can easily investigate them on grounds of non-compliance if any. However, the official noted, the task is far from easy since many African digital investors often use accounts in foreign banks or in other jurisdictions to go scot-free. Therefore, common reporting standards are a necessity for authorities to coordinate across jurisdictions.

Earlier in 2018, the SARS had decided that crypto transactions would not be exempt from regular tax rules and legislations and taxpayers were required to report all crypto profits and losses if any were incurred on the tax returns they filed with the authorities.

In April, SARS had warned all crypto traders and investors that it was their responsibility to file the reports honestly, failing which they could face charges of tax evasion and subsequently, interest and penalties. The authorities reportedly received a lot of phone calls seeking clarification and provided guidance to the confused people. Of late, need for having clear-cut crypto regulations has increased manifold and in July, the country’s Treasury also responded to the need by adding many amendments to the existing tax legislations, including a proposal to exclude crypto traders from paying VAT.

Dmitriy

Having majored in Social Psychology and Economics, I worked as a team lead of a tech and fundamental analysis lab in the Applied System Analysis Research Institute. I write financial articles for various international media. I also hold the position of a Chief Analyst at RoboForex.