Despite Coronavirus, Spain’s Tax Authority Shows No Mercy to Bitcoin Holders

The Agencia Estatal de Administracion Tributaria (AEAT), which is Spain’s tax agency, has announced plans to send out more letters to holders of bitcoin (BTC) and other blockchain-based cryptocurrencies in the nation in spite of the current global economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to reports on April 3, 2020.

AEAT Puts Spanish Crypto Investors on the Hotseat

At a time when the Spanish government is rolling out numerous measures to help citizens cushion the devastating effects of the COVID-19 virus, including interest-free microcredits for residents, giving out financial aid to temporary workers, among other palliatives, the tax authority has vowed to show no mercy to crypto investors.

Per sources close to the matter, the AEAT has made it clear that it plans to send out a massive 66,000 tax letters to crypto investors in the region and the exercise is expected to run from April 1 to June 30, 2020.

Compared to the total number of tax notices sent out to cryptocurrency market participants last year, which stood at just 14,700, this latest exercise represents a 350 percent increase.

A Long Time Coming

However, it’s worth noting that the taxman is also turning up the heat on other sectors including property rentals and overseas income, with the agency putting preparations in top gear to dish out 1.5 million notices to residents for rental housing and another 2.32 million letters to those who have bank accounts abroad.

Despite the fact that bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies are yet to get full regulation in Spain, these innovative digital assets are subject to capital gains tax (CGT) ranging from 19 to 23 percent depending on the amount of profit made from the sales of the coins.

Notably, the Spanish tax agency has been ramping up efforts to make crypto holders pay tax for quite some time.

As reported by BTCManager in October 2018, the Spanish government approved a draft bill aimed at making it mandatory for crypto investors holding up to 50,000 euros ($57k) worth of Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins to identify themselves and formally declare the exact amount of their cryptoassets.

And in November 2018, the AEAT fished out the details of about 15,000 taxpayers who hold cryptos in the region.