Australian Tax Agency Seeks Public Input Concerning Cryptocurrency Taxes

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has been researching how to formulate regulatory guidelines for taxing cryptocurrencies recently. This week the ATO is seeking input from Australian residents concerning how the country should tax digital assets.

Also read: South Korean Exchange Paying Users to Report Illegal Crypto Schemes

The Australian Taxation Office is Looking for Public Opinion Concerning Cryptocurrency Tax Implications

Over the past few months, the ATO has been drafting taxation guidelines for cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. The Australian tax agency has already described how it wants citizens to record all of their digital asset transactions and document the Australian dollar value amount at the time of each transaction. The ATO’s “Seeking Input” letter details its recently defined descriptions “resulted in queries from the community about how to approach specific tax events.” In order to deal with these requests, the ATO is asking for public opinion concerning crypto-tax laws.

“We have launched a community consultation to help us understand practical issues experienced when complying with cryptocurrency tax obligations,” explains the ATO.

We’ve timed this consultation to coincide with an update to our website, which should address some of the feedback we have received to date about our cryptocurrency guidance.

Public Feedback Must be Submitted by April 20

The recent letter follows the ATO’s creation of a special task force dedicated to tracking and identifying cryptocurrency transactions. Furthermore, the tax agency has partnered with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac) alongside other government bureaus. At the time the ATO detailed the agency’s strategy is meant for people to understand the “tax implications of cryptocurrency arrangements.”

This week the ATO’s letter explains it looks forward to hearing from the public.

“We’re eager to hear your feedback about cryptocurrency and its tax implications as the technology may impact how business operates in the future,” the agency adds.

Australian citizens who want to participate in giving public feedback can do so until April 20, 2018. Those who wish to make comments can visit the ATO’s consultation of substantiating cryptocurrency taxation events webpage.

What do you think about the ATO asking for public feedback concerning crypto-tax implications? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Images via Pixabay, and the ATO.

At news.Bitcoin.com all comments containing links are automatically held up for moderation in the Disqus system. That means an editor has to take a look at the comment to approve it. This is due to the many, repetitive, spam and scam links people post under our articles. We do not censor any comment content based on politics or personal opinions. So, please be patient. Your comment will be published.