EU Members 'Unanimously Support' New Regulations for Sharing Crypto Tax Data

A senior official has indicated that the European Union's member states have given unanimous support to new regulations that permit tax authorities to exchange information on individuals' cryptocurrency assets. As a result, it is probable that the law will be formally agreed upon next week.

To tackle tax evasion related to cryptocurrency, the European Commission put forth an eighth amendment to the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC8) last year. This amendment aims to broaden the scope of an existing law that was originally created to prevent taxpayers from hiding taxable assets in undisclosed offshore bank accounts.

“EU ambassadors have unanimously supported DAC8, paving the way for an adoption by the ECOFIN next week,” commission official Benjamin Angel tweeted Wednesday, referring to the regular meeting of economic and finance ministers that is due to take place in Brussels on May 16.

Angel holds the position of director within the tax department at the Commission and is responsible for guiding the bill through the necessary stages to become a fully-fledged law.

An anonymous EU official informed CoinDesk that while there has been a favorable response from ambassadors regarding the proposed measures, they have not been formally approved due to some governments still awaiting procedural clearance from their national parliaments.

In December, the Commission announced plans that require companies to register within the EU if they hold cryptocurrencies or certain non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and have EU clients. This registration is necessary for companies to comply with reporting requirements to tax authorities regarding their digital assets.

The aforementioned action was taken in response to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) effort to combat tax evasion through the use of digital assets.

The tax proposals presented by the commission were subject to potential veto by any of the 27 member countries in the EU's Council. Thus far, discussions regarding the bill have taken place primarily in closed-door meetings, and a finalized version of the agreed-upon text has yet to be published by the Council.

Source Coindesk