By
Svetlana Soroka
April 18th, 2024
Per the Australian Taxation Office, if people disposed of cryptocurrency assets within this financial year, they would have to calculate their capital gain or capital loss and report it in their tax return.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has announced a crackdown on crypto capital gains as one of its to-do lists in 2022. According to a report on ZDNet, crypto and NFT sellers are part of the list. Capital gains refer to the price difference between the time an asset was bought and the time it was sold. This means that traders who cashed in before last week’s market crash would owe something to ATO.
The percentage owed to the ATO varies depending on income range and ownership duration. It should be noted that the rate decreases for assets held for over a year.
Citing Tim Loh, ATO assistant commissioner, the office will not tolerate offsetting one’s crypto losses against their salary and wages. With the agency looking to crackdown on the mistakes made by the public, this move by ATO is targeted at making people honor their tax obligations.
Per the Australian Taxation Office, if people disposed of crypto assets within this financial year, NFTs included, they would have to calculate their capital gain or capital loss and report it in their tax return.
The Australian Taxation Office recorded more than 600,000 taxpayers who invested in digital assets over the past few years. The agency has supposedly been gathering records of crypto transactions from crypto exchanges based within Australia; these records go as far back as the 2014-15 tax period.
ATO notes that the anonymous nature of crypto makes it a very attractive space for individuals looking to evade their tax responsibilities.
Other Focus Areas for ATO
According to a report, other focus areas for the agency include property, shares, and record-keeping. ATO is committed to taking legal actions against anyone who intentionally attempts to increase their refund, falsifies their records, or cannot support their claims with proper evidence.
Another area of interest for the agency involves work-related expenses as many Australians continue to work from home post-Covid-19. With this, the agency expects a relative decrease in car, clothing, and work-associated expenses.
It should be noted that ATO receives and matches a lot of income information, both locally and foreign-sourced, and capital gains on matters shares, property, and cryptocurrency assets. However, even with such an expansive information inflow, the agency does not pre-fill all this information for Aussies.
Cognizant of this, ATO, through assistant commission Tim Loh has cautioned crypto users and the entire Australian populace to keep a diligent record of their income to avoid penalties.