On Jan. 14, 2019, Danish tax agency Skattestryrelsen received authorization from the nation’s tax council to collect two years of cryptocurrency trading information from three Danish crypto exchanges to ensure that its citizens have paid correct taxes.
The three exchanges must now provide the tax agency with information on all purchases and sales of cryptocurrencies – including Bitcoin – made by their customers during the period from Jan. 1, 2016 through Dec. 31, 2018. Customer data must include names, address, central person registration numbers, and possibly other data.
The tax agency’s personal tax director, Karin Bergen, stated that the access will provide the Danish regulator new opportunities to assert control over cryptocurrency trading.
The decision to require the information came after the tax agency received trading information in October 2018 from a Finnish Bitcoin exchange, which provided insight into the market. The Finnish tax authorities handed over information on about 2,700 Danes trading Bitcoin in transactions worth more than an estimated DKK 100 million from 2015 through 2017.
The first tax change notices for traders based on new information collected from the three Danish crypto exchanges will likely be sent before summer. Any changes will clarify whether a cryptocurrency trade must be included in an individual or entity’s taxable income.
In general, the Danish tax council released an April 2018 determination that requires individuals to report profit or loss when buying and selling cryptocurrency. The transactions are regarded as speculation, and instructions for financial contracts must be followed.
