The IRS plans to host the crypto summit in March 2020. The agency is setting the Summit’s holding place at its Washington, DC headquarters to meet with industry leaders. It has invited multiple cryptocurrency companies and advocates to attend the discussions.
According to the IRS spokesperson, they are planning to discuss the tax implications of cryptocurrencies. The main topic will be how to balance taxpayer service with regulatory enforcement. Attendants will also review the issues with crypto exchanges, tax return preparation, regulatory compliance and guidance, technology updates, and so on.
Kristin Smith, the executive director of the Blockchain Association advocacy group, stated that IRS has been planning the Summit for at least a month. The agency contacted industry participants at the beginning of this year.
Even so, the IRS hasn’t officially announced yet about hosting the Summit. It’s also unknown which companies and advocates got invitations. However, the unidentified IRS spokesperson confirmed to Bloomberg Tax that the Summit is taking place next month.
What is the IRS policy about Crypto?
The IRS declined to clarify its stance on cryptocurrencies recently. However, the agency has increased its scrutiny of crypto users over the 2019 tax year. IRS wanted to warn taxpayers that they plan to focus on a certain area of noncompliance. So it sent targeted letters to the people suspected of misreporting crypto transactions since June last year.
Internal Revenue Service is trying to identify and trace all cryptocurrency transactions. While people use Bitcoin for its guaranteed privacy, the Federal agency uses audits to get information about all exchanges.
The IRS may request crypto users to list all blockchain addresses they control during the audit, as well as records of all transactions related to these accounts. Those caught evading taxes with Crypto may face steep penalties. It seems the Summit is just another way to ensure that taxes are fully paid. It will give the IRS the opportunity to study the crypto-community better.
