Netherlands seeks opinions on new crypto tax laws to align with EU
Date: 2024-10-25 Author: Oliver Abernathy Categories: IN WORLD
“The main objective of this bill is to provide greater transparency around cryptocurrency ownership, which will help prevent tax evasion,” the Dutch Finance Ministry said in a press release on October 24.
The ministry also clarified that there will be little change for cryptocurrency owners in the country, as they are already required to file a tax return on their assets with the Dutch tax authority, Belastingdienst.
Under the new bill, Dutch tax authorities will be able to share data collected by cryptocurrency services on residents of other EU countries with the relevant tax authorities of those countries. This requirement was established at EU level last year as part of the directive on reporting crypto assets, known as DAC8.
For crypto service providers, the administrative burden will remain limited, as “they will only have to report in the EU country where they are registered,” the ministry noted.
Dutch cryptocurrency owners are required to pay taxes on their assets, just like on any other investment. However, the Finance Ministry emphasizes that EU tax authorities still lack “sufficient awareness” of cryptocurrencies, leading to uneven competition in the financial sector.
“With this bill, we are taking an important step towards the taxation of cryptocurrencies,” said Volkert Idzinga, State Secretary for Tax Affairs and Tax Administration.
He added that in the future, data exchange will make cryptocurrency transactions “transparent to tax authorities,” which will prevent tax evasion and prevent EU governments from losing revenue due to a lack of transparency.
Recall that in November, the Netherlands was among 47 countries that implemented the Cryptocurrency Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The proposed legislation also envisages that data collected by cryptocurrency service providers will be available to non-EU countries that have signed the CARF agreement, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore and others.
The deadline for submitting opinions and proposals on the bill is set until November 21, and the government plans to submit it to the Dutch House of Representatives for consideration in the second quarter of 2025.
