In the midst of the uncertainty that arises in the face of
tax regulations and their scope on crypto assets,
Marcos Zocaro, tax consultant, member of the board of directors of the NGO Bitcoin Argentina and professor of the Diploma in Cryptoeconomics and Law, explained
how the Tax news of that sector at the national level
, including
cryptocurrency mining
and the
sale of NFTs.
What happens in a country like Argentina where there is still no
clear tax framework
for the various
operations with cryptocurrencies.
For Zocaro,
There are different regulations, opinions and resolutions -both at the national and provincial level- that affect the industry and its users, and in order to address an explanation, the tax officer rehearses a review.
"In Argentina, an invoice is not issued for the sale of bitcoin,
for example, because General Resolution 1415 of the Federal Administration of Public Revenues
(AFIP) does not contemplate it
," explains the author of the book "Cryptocurrency Manual," a member of the NGO Bitcoin Argentina and teacher of the third edition of the Diploma in Cryptoeconomics and Law.
The specialist points out that
Personal Assets, Income Tax and the most recent law that taxes cryptocurrency mining
in the province of Buenos Aires
, are currently the three regulations that users of digital currencies must pay attention
to when making their transactions. affidavits and comply with their tax obligations
.
However, Zocaro warns that today these regulations "are gray
in terms of their definitions and prices."
First,
the Personal Property Tax
.
Although there is no
explicit reference
to crypto assets in the law or its regulations,
AFIP opinion 2/22
, which is a non-binding interpretation of the law by the tax authorities,
establishes that cryptocurrencies are a financial asset and therefore therefore they are encumbered by Personal Assets
.
However,
not all assets are affected,
so we have to take into account what type of crypto asset we are dealing with in order to know what its tax treatment is.
In this sense, it taxes certain assets that people have, but there are some that are exempt.
"If a natural person has encumbered assets
above a minimum
- a little more than $11 million by 2022 -
he must register, file an affidavit and pay what corresponds
," he says.
And he warns: "
Assets are taxed differently
, at the current value or at the cost of their purchase, and the type of rate varies according to where they are, whether in the country or abroad, the latter being the ones who pay further".
With respect to crypto, it is necessary to take into account to know if it is a taxed asset or not, according to the expert,
what type of cryptoactive is owned.
Whether they are payment tokens (such as Bitcoin), utility tokens, or security tokens (such as the tokenization of company shares).
"In the latter case, since it is the digital representation of our participation in a company,
it is covered by Personal Assets
," he points out.
Regarding income tax.
Zocaro says that "all the profits obtained from the sale of cryptocurrencies
are reached."
Although the norm speaks of digital currencies, and understands them as payment tokens, the consideration regarding the source of the profit is not clear,
what modifies the way of settling the tax is whether it is local or foreign.
The latest example is the new tax on cryptocurrency mining in Buenos Aires.
"This law qualifies cryptocurrency mining under the AFIP data processing code and
establishes that Gross Income reaches this type of activity as long as
the hardware is located in the province of Buenos Aires," explains the specialist.
And he adds: "The rule, which began to be applied in January, has some weak points, such as the lack of knowledge of the different types of protocols, which does not allow full application of the law to be achieved in all mining processes. Nor does it
establish What prices are applied to the rate
, which is 4% Taking into account that prices vary in the different exchanges,
it is not clear which one should be taken as a reference"
.
In Argentina,
no law talks about NFTs, but only about earnings from digital currencies
.
An invoice is not even issued for the sale of Bitcoin, for example, because AFIP Resolution 1415 does not contemplate it.
Only in the case of operating through an exchange, this service provider issues an invoice, but "only for the commission charged for carrying out the transaction."
For the Zocaro, to assess the situation of NFTs,
it is useful to think about their tax nature in the case of Spain.
"There, the fiscal entity established certain opinions to classify the nature of this token and its tax scope," he indicates.
And he adds: "In Spain, the sale of an NFT that establishes the right to use a certain image or photograph, to give an example, but that does not grant ownership, is qualified, compared to VAT, which there is Value Added Tax , as a provision of services and not as a sale of goods".
"Although the norm presents nuances that it is very extensive to analyze here, the example is good to analyze the doubt that existed in the face of nature about what an NFT is and how to classify it," he concludes.
What do the Central Bank think about cryptocurrencies?
The member countries of the G20 opened the debate regarding the policy approach they should adopt towards cryptocurrencies and how to contain their risks.
In this context, during the Summit of Economy Ministers, which took place in India, the president of the Central Bank (BCRA), Miguel Ángel Pesce,
spoke of the need to “isolate” the effects of these assets from the traditional financial system.
“We are pleased that we are having a deeper and more extensive debate on policy actions for crypto assets.
What we need is to replicate in Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFIs) the work done on bank regulation,” Pesce said.
His sayings do not arise in isolation, the truth is that the local economic crises and inflation position Argentina as a leader in the region in terms of cryptocurrencies.
“Crypto assets are decentralized and anonymous in nature and it is not possible to know where the holdings are held.
We should treat them as similar to gambling
, ”he indicated a few days ago.
NS
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