Authorities in Norway are worried about the taxable amount paid by cryptocurrency miners in the country.
According to the local news outlet Dagens: two miners named Philip Eriksen and Roy Arne Olsen, reported Bitcoin holdings of over $218,000 dollars, yet paid only $8,750 in taxes.
Bitcoin Miners Are Not Paying Taxes
Previous to this report, these two investors gave interviews with the local press in Tromso, an important Norwegian city. Back in December 2017, when the price of the famous virtual currency reached all-time high, the value of their holdings was $680,000 dollars.
After the culmination of the tax year in Norway, the country worried about how to consider virtual currencies and gains made. The treatment that the country is giving to Bitcoin – as an asset similar to shares – has proven to be very limited for investors. Indeed, they are paying less than 5% of their earnings. Other industries pay much more taxes for less profitable activities.
A Norwegian tax official commented:
“The person who has bought, sold, mined or has values placed in virtual currency, such as bitcoin, must report this in the tax report. A challenge with cryptocurrency is that the Tax Administration does not get this automatically reported by a third party, as with other types of basic data. The experience is that it is often done wrong, both deliberately and subconsciously with such information.”
At the moment, Europe does not have regional regulations for cryptocurrencies. However, states such as Spain are trying to regulate the market in a more efficient way. Other countries such as Malta are creating very clear and friendly regulations. In this way, blockchain and crypto companies can operate without problems.
As Norway is not part of the European Union (EU) it can have its own rules. Additionally, the G20 is working in common regulations for virtual currencies.
Tveter has also added that there are other ways and means available to report profits and losses in digital assets. Additionally, she said that tax office receives information from more sources than just these reports.
Taxpayers provide information about their earnings, but the agency has also other sources to collect data. In the future, new regulations could come into play and change the way in which individuals pay taxes in Norway; and other nations around the world.
