Romania has carried out raids on several locations of people who were involved in tax evasion on income generated through Cryptocurrency operations.
Romanian Police and its tax authorities raided more than a dozen people living in various locations of the European country. The lawyer was referring to data provided by the Romanian police. Law enforcement authorities in the EU country allege that, between 2019 and 2022, 19 targeted individuals formed or joined an organized crime group for the purpose of tax evasion. The taxable income, which they tried to hide, was obtained from transactions with digital currencies, investigators claim. According to preliminary estimates, their activities have resulted in losses for the state budget totalling 3 million Romanian lei (almost $650,000).
The operation was conducted after the tax fraud combatting unit of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) launched a probe last summer into proceeds from crypto trading received between 2016 and 2021 through various platforms such as Binance, Kucoin, Maiar, Bitmart, and the now-bankrupt FTX. At the time, tax inspectors identified revenues of over €131 million obtained by 63 Romanian citizens. They were also able to establish that the persons had failed to report over €48 million worth of digital assets on their tax returns.
ANAF explained that its actions were part of a push to increase taxation and compliance among taxpayers. According to amendments to the Romanian Tax Code passed by the parliament in 2019, income resulting from the transfer of virtual currencies is taxable at a 10% rate on capital gains exceeding an annual threshold of 600 lei (approx. $130).
The checks have been presented as a move within the tax authority’s new strategy to “adapt to the evolution of technology and financial market trends.” They targeted 63 Romanian citizens who, as ANAF established, made €131 million euros in crypto revenues between 2016 and 2021.
According to a report by the Romanian business news portal Economica.net, the tax inspectors have found that digital assets worth a total of €48.67 million were missing from their tax returns. Тhe agency has so far ordered the recovery of some €2.10 million in unfulfilled tax obligations. At the same time, the ANAF has confirmed that gains from cryptocurrency trading in the amount of approximately €15 million had been properly declared and the due income tax and social contributions paid in full.
The Romanian tax authority intends to also check revenues from various other crypto-related operations, such as mining or trading of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). It said the goal is to increase budget receipts and voluntary compliance among all categories of taxpayers. The ANAF’s anti-fraud department has recommended all Romanians who carry out such activities or plan to get involved to make sure they report their revenues and cover their fiscal obligations to the state.
At present, the European crypto space is largely regulated by national laws and authorities but the legal environment for investors and businesses is going to change significantly with the upcoming EU-wide rules for the industry that will apply to various cryptocurrency transactions
