Taxing cryptocurrencies

Katherine Baer, Ruud De Mooij, Shafik Hebous and Michael Keen

Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 2023, vol. 39, issue 3, 478-497

Abstract: Policy-makers are struggling to accommodate cryptocurrencies within tax systems not designed to handle them; this paper reviews the issues that arise. The greatest challenges are for implementation: crypto’s pseudonymity is an inherent obstacle to third-party reporting. Design problems arise from cryptocurrencies’ dual nature as investment assets and means of payment: more straightforward is a compelling case for corrective taxation of carbon-intensive mining. Ownership is highly concentrated at the top, but many crypto investors have only moderate incomes. The capital gains tax revenue at stake worldwide may be in the tens of billions of dollars, but the more profound risks may ultimately be for VAT/sales taxes.

Keywords: cryptocurrency; virtual assets; tax evasion; tax compliance; bitcoin (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Taxing Cryptocurrencies (2023)
Working Paper: Taxing Cryptocurrencies (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:oxford:v:39:y:2023:i:3:p:478-497.

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