NCLA Files Appeal Against the IRS — Law Firm Claims Tax Agency Unlawfully Seizes Crypto Data of Thousands

On Friday, the public interest law firm New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) filed an opening brief in the cryptocurrency case of James Harper v. Charles P. Rettig. The NCLA argues that Harper’s Fourth and Fifth Amendment constitutional rights were violated by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The U.S. tax agency is accused of obtaining Harper’s … Read more

Advocacy Group Claims IRS-Issued Crypto-Warning Letters Violated Taxpayer’s Rights

Close to a year ago last July, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) revealed it would be sending ‘soft letters’ to suspected American cryptocurrency owners advising them to pay their taxes. Now according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service, a subsidiary of the IRS, the soft letters undermined the rights and protections of American taxpayers. The … Read more

Tax Expert: IRS Crypto Question ‘Unconstitutional,’ Card Points, Flyer Miles Could Be Virtual Currency

While its well-known that the revised Schedule 1 form for U.S. taxpayers now contains a question about cryptocurrencies, what is lesser discussed are the legal ramifications this may have for filers who answer incorrectly. The vague nature of the yes or no inquiry has one tax expert doubting the constitutionality of the question, urging all … Read more

IRS Agents Propose Draconian Tactics to Investigate Bitcoin Users

A recently published U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) slide describes alarming recommendations on how tax agents should deal with digital currency users who are not paying taxes. The slide recommends that agents question crypto users’ friends and family, comb through social media posts and issue subpoenas to make sure U.S. residents are paying taxes on … Read more

IRS Plans to Issue Guidance on Virtual Currency Taxation

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) commissioner Charles Rettig has explained to U.S. representatives that the tax department plans to issue clearer guidance toward cryptocurrency taxation soon. Since 2014, Americans have been asking the tax agency for better clarification in regard to official tax guidelines. Also read: Last Will Platform Allows Your Loved Ones to Inherit Your … Read more

Chile to Start Taxing Cryptocurrency Earnings in Second Quarter of 2019

Chile is to start taxing cryptocurrencies in April, when taxpayers pay their yearly income taxes, but it’s unclear at what rate. According to local media reports, the country’s revenue authority has included crypto assets in the Annual Income Tax Returns form, which will be declared as “other own income and/or third-party income from companies that … Read more

US Representatives ‘Urge’ the IRS to Clarify Cryptocurrency Tax Guidance

On Wednesday September 19, a committee of US bureaucrats sent an open letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in regard to the way cryptocurrencies are taxed. The representatives’ letter directed towards IRS commissioner David Kautter wants the taxation office to publish provisional guidelines on how digital currency transactions and investments should be handled when US … Read more

Sales Tax and Bitcoin in the United States Can Be Confusing

Over the last two years in the US, the federal government and states have been trying to grasp the concept of cryptocurrencies and apply them to traditional finance laws like taxes. The task has proven to be extremely difficult for federal agencies and officials however. One confusing issue is the application of state sales tax … Read more

Five Nations Join Efforts to Punish Transnational Bitcoin Tax Crime

Tax enforcement authorities from five nations announced that they have created a united alliance, the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement, known as “the J5.” The J5 said they are committed to combating transnational tax crime “through increased enforcement collaboration,” in other words: working together to gather information, share intelligence, and conduct joint operations. Also … Read more