ASIC has released Consultation paper 381 Updates to INFO 225: Digital Assets: Financial Products and Services (CP 381) outlining proposals to update Information Sheet 225 Crypto Assets (INFO 225).
To provide greater clarity about the current law, ASIC has proposed a range of updates to INFO 225, including adding 13 practical examples of how the current financial product definitions apply to digital assets and related products.
Separately Treasury has released a Consultation Paper on Australia’s implementation of the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework and related amendments.
The OECD Crypto Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) is a new tax transparency framework which provides an international standard for the automatic exchange of crypto related account information between revenue (tax) authorities.
In general terms, crypto assets are a digital representation of value that an entity can transfer, store, or trade electronically – common examples include Bitcoin, investment tokens, and non-fungible tokens.
The paper considers two options – under either option, Australia would need to enter into a Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) or a bilateral information exchange agreement to enable the automatic exchange of information between tax authorities.
The status quo option (no change) is not considered given that crypto use in Australia has become mainstream, and that the CARF is a global minimum standard developed to help deter tax evasion.
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Author: David Jacobson
Principal, Bright Corporate Law
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About David Jacobson
The information contained in this article is not legal advice. It is not to be relied upon as a full statement of the law. You should seek professional advice for your specific needs and circumstances before acting or relying on any of the content.
