If You’re Living In Australia, Hiding Your Crypto Offshore Doesn’t Mean You’ll Avoid Tax

If You’re Living In Australia, Hiding Your Crypto Offshore Doesn’t Mean You’ll Avoid Tax
People hate paying tax on their income. People really hate paying tax on their crypto too. Cryptocurrency was designed to be decentralised and away from the government, so why on earth should the government profit from our hard work and investments?There are ways around crypto tax, for now. Note that in many countries this is illegal and thus, we wouldn’t ever recommend tax avoidance, but, much like with many illegal activities, people do it and that's a fact of life.Reports out today suggest that the Australian Tax Office (ATO) are now set to follow up on those who are using offshore bank accounts to hide their cryptocurrencies. Within this the ATO will be ensuring that these citizens are paying the right amount of tax for the assets they have traded within Australia. According to CCN, the Deputy Commissioner for the ATO, Martin Jacobs has said:
“Where people attempt to deliberately avoid these obligations we will attempt to take action. We have a range of existing powers that are designed to address unexplained wealth and conspicuous consumption that may arise through profits derived through cryptocurrency investment.”
Moreover, Jacobs doesn’t believe that this new approach will impact many investors:
“Where people attempt to deliberately avoid these obligations we will attempt to take action. We have a range of existing powers that are designed to address unexplained wealth and conspicuous consumption that may arise through profits derived through cryptocurrency investment.”
Therefore, with this in mind, only those who have experienced massive gains will be liable to pay tax for the assets they have stored offshore. See the full article for yourself, here. The ATO are going to employ intense data analysis techniques in order to locate traders who are taking advantage of offshore accounts and exchanges. As it stands, the ATO expect that hundreds of thousands of taxable income is current still unaccounted for, therefore the ATO do wish to make the most of this in order to try and dig into that. It’s a big potential earning for the ATO and should the investigations delve deep enough, some investors may get into a lot of trouble with this.Our advice? If you’re in Australia and believe that your offshore assets may be taxable, comply with the ATO, it's better to be safe than sorry. Moreover, if you’re unsure if your assets are taxable, just contact the ATO, they are there to help, not rob you blind. Investment Disclaimer
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