New Zealand businesses must submit information on their clients’ digit asset usage to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), the country’s tax regulator.
It has been reported by Radio New Zealand (RNZ) that the governing body said that it wants to get a better grasp on the crypto scene in the country and determine an applicable tax framework for the asset class.
However, RNZ wrote that in addition to specifics around crypto usage, the IRD will also request associated client information.
The IRD is not the only government body dialing in on digital asset taxation. The IRS, the US’ tax authority, has also upped its overwatch on the crypto industry, requiring filing citizens to check a box noting any interaction with the asset class.
New Zealand's #tax authority demands access to $crypto user's data, @benjaminpirus reports. https://t.co/UDU1x4UU4M — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) September 28, 2020
In 2018, Coinbase also had to give the IRS data on thousands of its customers as a result of an investigation by the agency.
Janine Grainger, the co-founder of New Zealand-based crypto exchange Easy Crypto, expressed displeasure with the IRD’s move by noting that the industry’s focus on privacy. Even so, she agreed to follow the agency’s demand, bound by legal requirement, according to her comments to RNZ.
Thus, she said:
“While many people might think ‘I have nothing to hide therefore, what do I care?’ the point of privacy isn’t to aid people who have something to hide, it’s to ensure we have a fair, open, and free society.”
Source: Cointelegraph