Automatic exchange of info should also cover assets like crypto: Finance Minister at G20

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said G20 should examine the feasibility of bringing non-financial assets like crypto in the ambit of automatic exchange of information among nations to check tax evasion. At the G20 Ministerial Symposium on Tax and Development in Bali, Sitharaman said investigations have shown that numerous layers of entities are often set up by tax evaders to conceal their unaccounted assets even though the automatic exchange of information framework provides for financial account information to various jurisdictions.

Tax evaders, being smart, explore other avenues to shift their unaccounted wealth through investment in non financial assets, she noted.

“While the development of crypto asset reporting framework is underway, I call upon the G20 to examine feasibility of an automatic exchange of information in respect of other non-financial assets beyond those covered under the Common Reporting Standards (CRS) like immovable properties as well,” she said.

Sitharaman has been making a strong case for global regulation of cryptocurrencies to tackle the risks on money laundering and terror funding.

In the area of tax transparency, she said, considerable progress has been made with the automatic exchange of information in respect of financial accounts, while over 100 countries have committed to exchanging financial account information under the CRS.

Several other jurisdictions which are not yet part of the framework will have to be brought in, she said, adding “I would think it is for the G20 to play the role of a catalyst in encouraging these jurisdictions to become part of the automatic exchange of information.”

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