NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the G20 should consider bringing non-financial assets like crypto under the automatic exchange of information between nations to check tax evasion.
At the G20 Ministerial Symposium on Taxation and Development in Bali, Sitharaman said investigations have shown that multiple layers of entities are often created by tax evaders to hide their unaccounted wealth even though the automatic information exchange framework provides account information financial for different jurisdictions.
Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman will attend the 3rd G20 FMCBG meeting and related events under #G20Indonesia @g20org The Presidency, as part of its official visit to Bali, Indonesia, starting on July 13, 2022. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/dCtrrt8Ddt
— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) July 12, 2022
Tax evaders, being smart, explore other avenues to shift their unaccounted wealth through investments in non-financial assets, she noted.
“While the development of the crypto asset reporting framework is underway, I call on the G20 to consider the possibility of an automatic exchange of information regarding other non-financial assets beyond those covered by the Common Reporting Standards (CRS) ) as real estate as well,” she said.
Sitharaman has made a strong case for global regulation of cryptocurrencies to address the risks of money laundering and terror financing.
In the area of tax transparency, she said, significant progress has been made with the automatic exchange of financial account information, while over 100 countries have committed to exchange financial account information under the CRS.
Some other jurisdictions that are not yet part of the framework will need 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 automatic exchange of information.
