Colombia clamps down on crypto tax evasion as adoption thrives

cointelegraph.com:

Down in Bogotá, cryptocurrency adoption is raging on. Colombia’s tax authority, the DIAN, (Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales de Colombia) has begun to catch up. It seeks to take “special measures” to crack the whip on cryptocurrency tax avoiders. 

In a statement released on January 28th, the DIAN stated that it would attempt to better regulate the cryptocurrency space, to work toward a more “honest” Colombia. The statement admits that Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency use is growing worldwide:

In effect, the DIAN wishes to establish a framework that would establish a tax control for “omitted” or “inaccurate” taxpayers. That includes Colombian citizens who failed to record income obtained from crypto operations, or those recording inaccurate cryptocurrency activities.

It comes as little surprise as Colombia is an increasingly active country for Bitcoin and crypto adoption. Colombia is consistently the second most active Bitcoin trading country in Latin America according to usefultulips.org, an online service tracking peer-to-peer BTC trading across the world.

Meanwhile, a search on Coinmap shows hundreds of merchants and ATMs across the country for Bitcoin services. Indeed, according to the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional, there are 687 Bitcoin-friendly retailers in Colombia.

While hardcore crypto libertarians may roll their eyes at the tax authorities attempting to regulate the space, the move may in fact be encouraging for greater crypto adoption. Recent news, as well as the DIAN’s approach to regulation, would suggest that Colombia’s institutions are in fact warming to crypto.

Currently, Colombia’s laws dictate that its financial institutions are prohibited from protecting, investing, brokering, or managing