Why is the Spanish Government sending notices to 66,000 Cryptocurrency owners?

The Spanish Government has decided to remind its citizens about their taxes more often now. They will send out around 66,000 letters to the cryptocurrency owners, even in the middle of this COVID-19 crisis.

Europa Press, the Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT), recently reported that the Spanish Government is sending notices to over 66,000 cryptocurrency owners in the country. Last year, the numbers of letters were just 14,700. But this year the Government has decided a whooping number, 66,000.

What is the Government of Spain planning to do?

The Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT), the tax authority of Spain, has kickstarted a campaign.

Timeline of this Spanish Campaign:

• The Tax Authority started a campaign on Wednesday, April 1, 2020.
• The campaign will continue till June 30, 2020, regardless of the ongoing Coronavirus crisis in the country.
• Under this campaign, the number of tax letters to real estate residents is increased from 7,00,000 Euros to 1.5 million Euros. For the residents having accounts in foreign banks, the new figure is 2.32 million Euros.

Even the Coronavirus Havoc can’t stop the publications of these letters!

Despite the ongoing COVID-19 havoc, the Spanish Government has taken this huge step.

Even in this critical situation, the Spanish Government is adamant. They took this step to make the cryptocurrency owners realize their tax obligations.

So far, Spain is being affected by COVID-19 in the following way:

• 112065, positive cases have been reported.
• More than 10,000 patients have already died.
• There are 74,974 active cases, 6,092 of which are extremely serious.

The Government Crypto Taxation System

Spain is not the only country that wants to tax the cryptocurrency owners. USA, India, and Australia have also done this.

How is Crypto taxed in the USA?

• The USA considers Bitcoins as valuable assets. Hence, owners must pay taxes for these assets.
• For owning Cryptocurrency for less than a year, IRS applies short terms charges.
• For owning Cryptocurrency for more than a year, IRS applies Long term charges.

How is Crypto taxed in Australia?

• ATO, the Australian Taxation Office, considers digital currency as property. Consequently, you need to pay tax for them.
• For owning Cryptocurrency for less than a year, ATO applies a 50% CGT discount.
• You can be exempted from tax if:

1. You use Crypto for personal shopping or usage.
2. Your monetary profit is less than $10,000.

How is Crypto taxed in India?

• There are no specific rules for the taxation of Bitcoins in India. However, Cryptocurrencies are still taxed.
• For owning Cryptocurrency for less than three years, RBI applies short terms charges.
• For owning Cryptocurrency for more than three years, RBI applies Long term charges.

Cryptocurrency is still not legal in Spain. Hence, the Government does not have any proper regulatory system for them. Moreover, the sales of Cryptocurrency provide us with monetary benefits. These benefits range between 19%-23%.
Global Legal Insights is an informatory publication of Spain. They claim that the Spanish Government can earn an additional 50,000 Euros from them.

COVID-19 has become a global issue. Humans fear their existence because of the severe consequences of this virus.
There are more than a million positive cases all across the globe. More than 50,000 people have already died. We mustn’t ignore the seriousness of the situation.