South African Crypto Holders Urged to Approach Tax Body Before It Descends on...
An international tax expert, David Lesperance, says South Africa’s revenue collector is closing in on cryptocurrencies, and holders of these assets need to take the initiative and approach South Africa Revenue Services (SARS) before it descends on them. Lesperance argues that by making the first move, cryptocurrency investors will be able to avoid the punitive penalties that SARS often imposes on tax dodgers. Crypto Taxes Inevitable In the meantime, Lesperance, in remarks that were made during a call with Bitcoin.com News, urged crypto holders to get over “the fantasy that they....
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The number of surveyed South Africans that own crypto grew marginally from 10.3% in October 2021, to 11.3% in December 2021. With this rate of ownership, South Africa is now ranked number 21 out of the 27 countries whose internet users participated in the survey. South African Ownership Rate Below Global Average According to the findings of the latest Finder survey, out of the 2,003 South African internet users that were surveyed, 11.3% said they own cryptocurrency. This cryptocurrency ownership rate is said to be marginally higher than that of the United States (10.5%) and Sweden (9.8%).....
A professor with the University of Johannesburg, Rabelani Dagada, has urged South Africa to finalize its cryptocurrency public policy if the country still wants to become a hub for digital currency innovation.
History Will Repeat Itself
In an opinion published by Itweb, Dagada warned South African authorities that the continued efforts to stifle cryptocurrencies will not achieve the intended objectives. He adds that regulators must learn from history that violently opposing an emerging innovation will not kill it. He explained:
Technology has prevailed against violent and....
In late August, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) released new guidelines that clarify the correct treatment of taxable crypto events. The new guidance, which was published on the revenue collector’s webpage, explains how cryptocurrency-related income should be disclosed in tax returns. Distinction Between Income and Capital Gains Tax As shown on SARS’ crypto-asset tax webpage, “income received or accrued from crypto assets transactions can be taxed on revenue account under ‘gross income.'” Alternatively, the new guidance says such gains....
A South African tax expert, Thomas Lobban, has warned non-tax paying crypto traders that they now face possible jail time if the South African Revenue Services (SARS) decides to lay tax offense charges against them. He adds that this threat of jail time similarly applies to South African crypto traders that use offshore exchange platforms to trade or store their crypto assets. Lack of Guidance Blamed Lobban’s warning follows reports earlier in the year which suggested that changes to South African tax laws may have made it “easier for SARS to secure criminal convictions for....
South African regulator the Financial Sector Conduct Authority recently issued its second crypto “health warning” after it noticed increased reports of crypto-related losses suffered “in the past three months.” In the warning, the regulator reminds investors that since cryptocurrencies are “not regulated by the authority or any other body,” there will be no legal recourse “if something goes wrong.” Unregulated Firms and Promises of High Rewards The FSCA’s second warning comes in the wake of the collapse of the Mirror Trading....