The bill, passed in the first reading, on taxing cryptocurrency operations has sparked disputes between the Bank of Russia and the Ministry of Finance, Interfax reports, citing a source familiar with the situation.
According to the publication, the central bank and the ministry cannot agree on access by tax authorities to bank accounts to monitor cryptocurrency operations.
The Ministry of Finance advocates for providing such access. The department believes that this will help prevent tax evasion while not overburdening banks and citizens with tax checks.
In most cases, an on-site tax audit of persons obliged to report information about digital currencies is not required, the Ministry says. It is enough to conduct an «operational check» of incoming information (including from other sources) on evasion of reporting about digital currencies and the related tax avoidance of such operations, the ministry notes.
The Central Bank believes that tax authorities should not have the right to request information about cryptocurrency transactions outside tax investigations.
The current version allows the tax authorities to obtain from banks data on cryptocurrency-related transactions on individuals’ bank accounts. The basis for obtaining such data could be only the presence of signs of possible violations of the law.
In the Ministry, stated that there are no unresolved disagreements with the Bank of Russia over the bill. Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev added that the government would soon consider the amendments and submit them to the State Duma.
The ministry also clarified that the amendments concerning allowing the tax authorities access to Russians’ accounts for monitoring digital currency operations have not changed in the end.
As reported, according to the latest data, the bill to introduce a tax on cryptocurrency operations has not undergone significant changes ahead of the second reading and provides for citizens to inform the Federal Tax Service about holdings of digital assets.
Read a detailed analysis of the bill at the link:
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