The New Zealand Tax Office Warns Traders to Comply with Tax Obligations for Cryptocurrency Transactions
The New Zealand Tax Office has made an important announcement, reporting the identification of over 227,000 unique users who have carried out approximately 7 million transactions with digital assets. The total value of these transactions amounts to a significant NZ$7.8 billion, which is roughly equivalent to US$4.77 billion. In light of this, the agency is reminding traders of the need to comply with tax obligations, emphasizing that if they fail to disclose income from cryptocurrencies, the tax office will take stricter measures.
In 2020, New Zealand updated its tax guidelines for digital assets, now considering them a form of property. This change means that income from cryptocurrency trading is subject to taxation. Trevor Jeffris, an official representative of the Tax Office, noted that given the significant growth of the crypto market this year, investors have every reason to pay their taxes in a timely manner.
Jeffris emphasized that «the value of cryptocurrencies has reached record highs, and this is the perfect time to review tax obligations. Investors should be aware of the risks associated with not paying taxes. Despite the belief that blockchain provides complete anonymity, we have specialized tools to track cryptocurrency activities.»
The Tax Office actively collaborates with exchanges both within and outside the country, as well as interacts with other international tax authorities to obtain additional information about cryptocurrency transactions conducted abroad.
According to a recent study conducted by the crypto exchange Easy Crypto, 14% of New Zealand citizens already own or have owned cryptocurrencies in the past, while 58% plan to acquire digital assets in the near future.
