New Zealands tax agency has requested that crypto firms in the country share their customers personal details and cryptocurrency asset values.
According to a statement from the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) issued to Radio New Zealand, the agency has requested this information in order to enhance its understanding of the crypto-asset environment in the country, so that it can know how best to help taxpayers meet income tax obligations.
The move comes at a time when tax regulators around the world are tightening their grip on the cryptocurrency market.
Janine Grainger, chief executive of New-Zealand-based Easy Crypto, told Radio New Zealand that the IRD must be widening its net of the tax base because crypto-asset ownership is growing in New Zealand. Grainger called the move a heartbreaking breach of privacy and autonomy.
https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/79008/new-zealands-tax-authority-asks-crypto-firms-to-turn-over-customer-infoThe excuse of understanding the environment is quite weak because it obviously doesn't require names and other info to understand the general tendencies (anonymized data on financial flows would suffice). But if crypto firms collect this data anyway, then providing it to the IRD is not a big step forward. It's another thing if the firms don't ask for KYC, but will now be required to do so on a whim of the institution... I hope they'll reconsider this move and find compromise with the environment they allegedly want to grasp. Income taxes sound fair, but only if the legislation requires them being paid when earning income in crypto and if there're good reasons to believe many are not paying them.