On my desk this week: crypto taxation

It is not uncommon to hear calls for changes to a nation’s tax system. Arguments vary from the traditional low taxation to stimulate growth through to the need for more taxes to pay for essential services. Then there are particular business sectors looking for tax breaks and campaigners calling for regimes to be tightened to tackle tax evasion.

Tax needn’t be taxing to quote an old HMRC slogan. But it rarely seems as if there is agreement on how individuals and corporates should be taxed.

The issue

And now none other than the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has weighed in. It wants to see global tax systems modernised to accommodate crypto assets. The IMF has said that taxation has to be transformed to meet the challenge posed by the anonymity and decentralised nature of crypto assets. It is particularly concerned about the potential for tax evasion if...