Spanish tax authority sends tax reminders to 66,000 crypto holders

• The Spanish tax authority has sent out reminders to 66,000 crypto holders about their tax obligations.
• The financial watchdog has also been targeting those who earn income abroad and from real estate investments.

The Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT) has been sending out warning notices to about 66,000 crypto holders reminding them of their tax obligations. According to Europa Press, the tax authority started the campaign on April 1 and will continue sending notices till June 30.

The AEAT has also been targeting those who earn income abroad and from real estate investments. According to Cointelegraph, Javier Pastor, chief sales officer at Spain-based crypto exchange Bit2me, said that he believes the government may be looking for ways to collect funds to help pay for the enormous costs incurred due to the outbreak of the current pandemic.

Pastor further noted that the Spanish government had not postponed the filing of tax returns or the payment of taxes because of COVID-19. He said that the Spanish exchanges wouldn’t be affected much by the measures even though he believes stricter Know Your Customer (KYC) rules and transaction monitoring are on the way.

This does not affect us much in the companies in the industry that have been doing things well […] I think they [tax watchdog] are only scaring the novice user by applying such measures, plus I don't think they are going to collect much tax revenue from the cryptocurrency sector because they are not even regulated in our country.