US Treasury Charges Bittrex With Sanctions Violations, Crypto Exchange Agrees to Settle With Regulator

On October 11, the U.S. Treasury department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that it has settled charges with the cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex. The crypto exchange was accused of sanctions violations and failure to “implement effective sanctions compliance controls” between March 2014 and December 2017. Crypto Exchange … Read more

South African Expert Says Tax-Dodging Crypto Traders Face Heightened Jail Threat

A South African tax expert, Thomas Lobban, has warned non-tax paying crypto traders that they now face possible jail time if the South African Revenue Services (SARS) decides to lay tax offense charges against them. He adds that this threat of jail time similarly applies to South African crypto traders that use offshore exchange platforms … Read more

South African Crypto Exchanges Confirm Receiving Request for Client Data From Tax Collection Body

Three leading cryptocurrency exchanges from South Africa recently confirmed receiving a request for client data from the country’s revenue collector. In a joint statement, the exchanges, (namely Altcointrader, Luno, and Valr) said this request, which targets a “selection of customers”, has been made “in terms of section 46 of the (South African) Tax Administration Act.” … Read more

South African Taxpayers Who Fail to Disclose Income From Cryptocurrency Trading Face Possible Jail Time

According to a report, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has sent out audit requests to taxpayers asking them to disclose their cryptocurrency trades and purchases. Taxpayers that fail to correctly disclose their income from bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies may be “liable to a fine or imprisonment for up to two years.” SARS Tracking Non-Compliant … Read more

South African Officials Create Regulatory Working Group Dedicated to Cryptocurrencies

The Minister of Finance of South Africa, Tito Mboweni, explained in a letter on Jan. 2 that the region’s government has created a regulatory working group dedicated to cryptocurrencies. According to Mboweni, the working group includes representatives from multiple South African agencies and aims to produce a comprehensive regulatory response to the growing digital asset … Read more

South African Tax Authority Going After Crypto Traders

The South African Revenue Service is working to improve the tracking of cryptocurrency traders and their transactions in order to verify if they are paying taxes. According to its Commissioner, the agency is exploring ways to better identify those that are profiting from trading digital assets and check if they are evading taxation. Also read: … Read more

Officials in South Africa Propose VAT-Exemption for Bitcoin Trades

Cryptocurrencies are becoming more prevalent to residents living in South Africa and over the past year bitcoin interest stemming from the region has grown exponentially. Furthermore, just recently the South African Treasury has proposed a few amendments that apply to the country’s Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (TLAB) and how cryptocurrencies are taxed. According to regional … Read more