As part of a new tax overhaul, the Spanish Ministry of Finance wants to strengthen its ability to seize cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
According to the Spanish daily newspaper El Economista, the Ministry of Finance in Spain is preparing to propose a new tax reform that would give it the authority to take cryptocurrency and digital collectibles if taxes are not paid.
The ministry has suggested amending Article 162 of the General Tax Law, which would give local tax authorities the authority to take cryptocurrency while collecting debt from users.
To facilitate the cryptocurrency embargo, changes to the General Collection Regulations are also recommended. El Economista points out that the government already possesses data on the cryptocurrency holdings of taxpayers and adds that as of this year, individuals and businesses must register any cryptocurrency they own that is held overseas.
On the other hand, the initiative’s timetable is not specifically mentioned in the study. Spain has led the way among European nations by implementing extensive cryptocurrency tax regulations.
Taxpayers must report any cryptocurrency-related gains or losses on their personal income tax returns. Furthermore, cryptocurrency holdings must be declared for wealth tax purposes by March of this year.
This declaration requirement only applies to anyone with more than €50,000 in cryptocurrency holdings. For declaration, anyone with cryptocurrency assets kept in self-custodial wallets (such as Ledger or MetaMask) should use Form 714, the current wealth tax form.
As previously mentioned, in 2023, over 325,000 warnings were sent by Spain’s tax authorities to citizens who neglected to declare their cryptocurrency holdings. This is a notable increase from the 150,000 warnings that were sent in 2022.
