IRS Starts Operation Hidden Treasure To Find Unreported Crypto Income

IRS starts “operation Hidden Treasure” to try and find all unreported crypto income and it looks like it is stepping up its enforcement capabilities with the new program that is designed to ensure tax compliance so let’s read more in our latest cryptocurrency news.

IRS starts a new operation to search for unreported crypto-related income as per the Director of the Office of Fraud Enforcement Damon Rowe who spoke at the Federal Bar Association virtual tax conference saying that crypto fraud remains a priority. The Operation Hidden Treasure is a joint effort between the IRS civil office and the criminal investigation unit that will train agents to look for blockchains and to root out tax evasion among the crypto users. it will exist as a part of the emerging threats mitigation team and all employees are now training alongside the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation as a part of the initiative.

The national fraud counsel in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel Carolyn Schenck said that the agency is working with private contractors and vendors as well as blockchain analytics companies to develop signatures or other signs of fraudulent activity. These indicators include looking at those that structure transactions below the reporting requirements and also using shell corporations to hide funds and to get on and off the chain. The IRS sent conflicting messages to the US Crypto holders a few times in the past and most recently, it even updated the FAQ page that indicated investors who bought virtual currency with real currency don’t have to report that transactions of the tax returns.

Cashing out crypto into daily purchases is seen as a taxable event and the new operation by the IRS is designed to trace, find and attribute these transactions to the taxpayers, as Schenck said:

 “These transactions are not anonymous. We see you.”

Speaking of taxation, With cryptocurrencies picking up steam and bringing in features of regular asset classes, South Korea’s government levies taxes on capital gains from digital currency. The country is the latest in the row to adopt this initiative as its Ministry of Economy and Finance said it will levy taxes on crypto starting from 2022.