EU tackles tax evasion and money laundering with Bitcoin and Co

In the future, information about transactions involving crypto-assets such as Bitcoin will be automatically exchanged between national tax authorities in the EU.

It must also be possible to share tax-relevant information about the richest people. This was agreed by the finance ministers of the EU countries in Brussels on Tuesday.

Where’s the problem?

Cryptocurrencies are generated on the computer, Bitcoin being the most famous. The market started without extensive regulation, so there were instances of fraud and concerns about money laundering opportunities.

The new rules make it easier for states to collect taxes when profits are made from trading or investing in cryptocurrencies, just as they do with other financial assets. “The tax authorities are required to automatically exchange information provided by the reporting crypto service providers,” a statement said. The decentralized nature of crypto assets has made it difficult for countries’ tax authorities to ensure tax compliance.

The new rules have been unanimously approved by the Council, but have yet to be formally adopted. But that is considered a formality. Most will come into force in 2026, some a little later – by 2030 at the latest.

What else has been decided?

In addition, in the fight against money laundering, EU countries have decided that crypto service providers are obliged to collect and make available certain information about customers and beneficiaries of the crypto asset transfers they carry out – no matter how much crypto assets are transferred. This is intended to ensure the traceability of crypto value transfers and better identify possible suspicious transactions.

In addition, the countries have agreed on a legal framework for protecting investors in crypto assets.

(sda/awp/dpa)