Holders of digital wallets and cryptocurrencies have in recent months found in their mailbox letters of demand revealing all the information about their activities in this arena. Some of them have even had their files opened “Business”
Internal Revenue Service: “Work to locate activists in the field who do not manage a portfolio in the tax authorities. The activity carries results”
Subject: “Material requirement / clarification”; Application: “A detailed affidavit on each digital wallet, Virtual coins, Using the wallet and nature, Tax platforms (The changes) They had an account and operations were carried out, Movements in the virtual wallets and changes and every event purchase and sale of any virtual currency, Including profit, The loss and confrontation due to the actions taken”.
this, In essence, The new demand launched by the Tax Authority for a variety of activists in the digital currency arena (The biggest of which are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, EOS and we carded) lately . To”Globes” famous, That the various tax officials in the tax authority, Began to send letters of demand to workers in the digital currency arena aimed at clarifying the tax liability of those activists and opening portfolios “Business” To arena activists in the relevant cases.
In the last two months, dozens of income tax cases have been opened for activists in the digital currency trading and investment arena.

The move is a continuation of the professional circulars published by the Authority in recent months (The last of which is in March this year), Regulating and clarifying the position of the Authority regarding the manner of taxation of activity b”Digital currencies”, Bitcoin and the like. According to the position of the Tax Authority, this is a”asset”, And not a coin, Regarding tax laws (See box). And, in the previous months, Quite a few digital wallet and coin holders have found a letter of demand in their mailbox which is in fact the opening of their new affair with the tax authority, As part of it they are asked “spread out” Before the Authority and disclose all information of any kind and sex about their activities in the digital currency arena.

“By virtue of authority under section 155 And 15A of the Income Tax Ordinance, I would like to forward the following documents to my office, Not later than date X”, Writes for example Assessing Officer A.”A 5 To one of the assessees, And specifications: “I would like to receive a written affidavit for the following questions: Please detail about all the wallets in which you have opened accounts over the years. The date of opening the account must be indicated, as well as the currency in which the wallet is used; Please detail about all “The changes” (Trading platforms) In which you have an account and through which you have made buying / selling operations over the years. Please indicate the date you opened the account (For each and every account); Please attach the movements from the wallets and changes from the day they are opened until … (Printouts of the movements from the wallets and changers); Details about all purchase events (Or purchase through conversion of other currencies) Of the virtual currencies; Virtual currency sales events, They are from a virtual currency to shekels (Cash); For each event, specify the date of purchase / conversion / sale of the virtual currencies; For each event, indicate the type of currency purchased / converted / sold at each event; For each event, indicate the quantities of the clearing house that was purchased / converted / sold; For each event, enter the amount in Bash”H or mat”H. of the loss or gain accrued from the event of the sale; If you have incurred sales / purchase commissions for the activity here”Please attach a reference to this”.

And further requires an Assessing Officer A.”A 5, From the owner of the digital wallet: “Please indicate the amount of digital coins you have held for each foreign year end (I would like to receive the information for each type of currency individually), Starting from the year you started using virtual currencies; Have you been or have been involved in mining in the past?’ Of digital currencies?; And are you related to another business activity related to virtual currencies?”.

Similar letters were sent to the assessees also from the assessee”A 4 And other assessees. מדובר בפניות ששיגרו פקיד שומה ת”A 5 ופקיד שומה ת”A 4, אשר אליהם מוגשים מרבית הדיווחים על מימוש מטבעות וירטואליים, Both for investors on whom intelligence information was collected that they are active in the arena and also for investors who have begun to report their income to the Authority, But tax officials were not satisfied with these reports. These letters cause unrest in the arena. לאחר שנים שבהן לא היה כל טיפול בזירה הזאת בפן המיסויי, וזירת המטבעות הקריפטוגרפיים הייתה פרוצה הלכה למעשה, החלה הרשות במהירות ביישום מדיניותה שהובעה בחוזרים המקצועיים, According to which investors in digital currencies are liable to capital gains tax in the high 25%, As long as their activity does not turn into a business. In the event that the activity arises, a business will be charged with a two-stage tax as a company or a marginal tax according to the individual tax brackets.

בעוד במשרדי פקיד שומה תל אביב 5, בחרו במכתבי דרישת המידע הגורף כאמור, במשרדים אחרים ברחבי הארץ החלו לפתוח תיקים לפעילים בזירה, וזאת מבלי לדרוש מידע מראש, But on the basis of the intelligence information already gathered in their case. so, Hadera Assessing Officer chose to take an active path and sent a large number of investors in the digital currency arena a letter informing them, Because a case was opened for them in the PA, And that they are required to file tax returns regarding currency trading several years back.

In those letters no information is required but reporting as a business, Bookkeeping and paying tax legally. “We are honored to inform you that on X a re-income tax file numbered Y will be opened for you at the Assessor 17 – Hadera”, Written in one of the letters. Later in the letter, the taxpayer was explained the main tasks to be performed following the opening of the case, ובין היתר צוין: “חלה עליך חובת תשלום מקדמות, פנקס מקדמות יישלח אליך בהקדם; הנך נדרש/ת להגיש דוחות שנתיים משנת 2013 And thereafter; הנך נדרש/ת לנהל פנקסי חשבונות; אם בעסק מועסקים עובדים או משולמים תשלומים אחרים החייבים בניכוי מס במקור, עליך לפתוח תיק ניכויים, אם טרם עשית זאת; Also, הנך חייב/ת בהעברת ניכויי מס, דיווחים תקופתיים ודו”ח שנתי, ולמלא אחר כל הוראות בדבר ניכוי במקור והדיווח עליו”.

מדובר במהלך אקטיבי, אך נקודתי, של פקיד השומה בו הוא בוחר לפנות מיוזמתו אל המשקיעים אשר לגביהם נאסף מידע מודיעיני, Because they invest in the field of cryptocurrencies, But as far as is known, At this stage, this is not a nationwide and large-scale operation.

The tax authority said in a response: “בעקבות פרסום החוזר המבטא את עמדת הרשות בנושא אופן המיסוי של מסחר והשקעה במטבעות וירטואליים, פועלת הרשות לאיתור פעילים בתחום שאינם מנהלים תיק ברשויות המס. הפעילות נושאת תוצאות וכבר נפתחו בתקופה האחרונה עשרות תיקים בעקבותיה. “פעילות זו משתלבת עם מהלך כולל בנושא מיסוי הכלכלה הדיגיטלית שמקדם מנהל הרשות, ערן יעקב, שיכלול, Among other things, בצד העמדת כלים מקלים לדווח, גם אכיפה משמעותית. ברשות ממליצים למי שמנהלים פעילות לא מדווחת בתחומים אלה לנצל את הערוצים הקיימים להסדרת ענייניהם מולה בטרם יאלצו לשאת באי הנעימות הנלוות לפעילות האכיפה”.