{"id":50992,"date":"2021-05-05T10:50:44","date_gmt":"2021-05-05T10:50:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timestampmag.com\/?p=50992"},"modified":"2021-05-05T10:50:44","modified_gmt":"2021-05-05T10:50:44","slug":"uk-revenue-authority-sets-its-eyes-on-cryptocurrency-tax-evaders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timestampmag.com\/2021\/05\/05\/uk-revenue-authority-sets-its-eyes-on-cryptocurrency-tax-evaders\/","title":{"rendered":"UK Revenue Authority Sets Its Eyes on Cryptocurrency Tax Evaders"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>HMRC, the revenue authority of the United Kingdom has decided to increase efforts to uncover what it calls \u2018\u2019hidden wealth\u2019\u2019.<\/li>\n<li>The UK tax authority will include a new section in the \u2018\u2018Statement of Assets\u201d specifically designed for individuals to declare crypto assets.<\/li>\n<li>Any taxpayer who fails to disclose their capital gains could face a 20% tax charge on capital gains besides interests and penalties that may add up to 200% of any due taxes in addition to jail time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In a bid to crack down on unlawful wealth concealed under the garb of \u201cunsanctioned\u201d currencies, the UK tax authority is planning to ramp up its efforts of snaring tax evaders. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/organisations\/hm-revenue-customs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Her Majesty\u2019s Revenue and Customs<\/a> (HMRC), the revenue authority of the United Kingdom, has decided to expose what it calls \u201chidden wealth\u201d, according to the UK accountancy group <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uhy-uk.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UHY Hacker Young<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Image Source<br \/>\nThe group has reported that the tax authority plans to introduce a new section in the \u201cStatement of Assets\u201d form used in tax evasion investigations, dealing specifically with cryptocurrencies, including <a href=\"https:\/\/bitcoin.org\/en\/release\/v0.21.0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bitcoin<\/a> (BTC) and <a href=\"https:\/\/ethereum.org\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ether<\/a> (ETH) among others.<\/p>\n<p>Besides, the form will also reportedly now include sections on systems of exchange, covering the \u2018black market\u2019 peso used by Mexican and Colombian cartels. This would be over and above explicit demands for information on crypto and similar \u2018unsanctioned currency\u2019 holdings used in Africa, India, and China.<\/p>\n<h2>What is Behind the Move?<\/h2>\n<p>HMRC is under the impression that plenty of such hidden wealth is going unaccounted for, majorly because of the <a href=\"https:\/\/timestampmag.com\/2020\/04\/01\/stock-pickers-mentality-for-investing-in-crypto\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rise of cryptocurrencies<\/a> and other unsanctioned money transfer methods. Therefore, there is an urgent need for gathering all information regarding such transactions to be able to boost HMRC\u2019s fight against illegal wealth hoarding.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA defense of ignorance of the law in this booming sector will no longer wash with the taxman,\u201d said Director of UHY Hacker Young, David Jones. \u201cWhile criminals can still choose not to declare assets, doing so gives HMRC another opportunity to bring criminal charges against them if their forensic work finds a hidden Bitcoin wallet,\u201d Jones added.<\/p>\n<p>Though it is not very likely that the HMRC will be able to gain every information they seek on crypto holdings, it is still a step in the right direction. Traders might choose to avoid hefty penalties by disclosing their gains before being prompted. HMRC is seeking data for the period from April 2017 to April 2019, which saw the height of the market, bringing in enormous profits for cryptocurrency traders.<\/p>\n<h2>Stiff Penalties Awaiting Tax Evaders<\/h2>\n<p>Data collated by HMRC would be used to improve the integrity of the tax system and in the identification of those who have failed to declare their gains, according to a spokesperson for the agency. Under the new HMRC rules, any taxpayer who fails to disclose their gain could face a 20% capital gains tax charge besides interests and penalties of up to 200% of any due taxes. This is over and above criminal charges and jail terms.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_50994\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-50994\" style=\"width: 1757px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-50994\" src=\"https:\/\/timestampmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5669602-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1757\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/timestampmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5669602-scaled.jpg 1757w, https:\/\/timestampmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5669602-206x300.jpg 206w, https:\/\/timestampmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5669602-703x1024.jpg 703w, https:\/\/timestampmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5669602-768x1119.jpg 768w, https:\/\/timestampmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5669602-1054x1536.jpg 1054w, https:\/\/timestampmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5669602-1406x2048.jpg 1406w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1757px) 100vw, 1757px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-50994\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/judgement-scale-and-gavel-in-judge-office-5669602\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pexels<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It would be difficult for traders who have not maintained accurate records to avoid these penalties because they don\u2019t realize the exchange is taxable. With the HMRC\u2019s advance notice, there can be several changes in the landscape soon.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HMRC, the revenue authority of the United Kingdom has decided to increase efforts to uncover what it calls \u2018\u2019hidden wealth\u2019\u2019. The UK tax authority will include a new section in the \u2018\u2018Statement of Assets\u201d specifically designed for individuals to declare crypto assets. Any taxpayer who fails to disclose their capital gains could face a 20% [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":50993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[30,370,416,565,4,564,251,566],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timestampmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50992"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timestampmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timestampmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timestampmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timestampmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50992"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/timestampmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50997,"href":"https:\/\/timestampmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50992\/revisions\/50997"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timestampmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timestampmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timestampmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timestampmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}