New Rules on Sharing Crypto Tax Data ‘Unanimously Supported’ by EU Members

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New European Union rules allowing tax authorities to share data on people's crypto holdings have been unanimously supported by the bloc’s member states, meaning formal agreement on the law is likely next week, a senior official has said.

Last year the European Commission proposed to curb tax evasion using crypto via an eighth amendment to the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC8), widening an existing law that is intended to prevent taxpayers from stashing taxable assets in hidden overseas 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 is director at the commission’s tax department, responsible for shepherding the bill through to becoming a law.

Another EU official, who asked not to be named, told CoinDesk that, though there had been a “positive spirit” from ambassadors on the measures, they had not been formally agreed, as some governments have not yet received procedural approval from national parliaments.

Under Commission plans unveiled in December, which apply to holdings of crypto and some non-fungible tokens (NFTs), any company with EU clients will have to register in the bloc in order to report digital assets to tax authorities.

It follows a move by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) intended to crack down on tax evasion via digital assets.

The commission’s tax proposals could have been vetoed by any of the bloc’s 27 member countries, who meet in a grouping known as the EU’s Council. The Council has so far held discussions on the bill largely behind closed doors, and has not yet published a draft of the agreed text.