Nearly 50% of crypto investigations in 2022 involved tax issues, IRS says

Crypto investigations are no longer focused on money laundering as about half of the crypto probes in 2022 involved tax, the IRS says.

As per a Bloomberg report, Jim Lee, head of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) criminal investigation division says that crypto investigations now cover various offenses such as failure to report income from capital crypto gains or mining activities to not disclosing crypto holdings.

The report says the IRS unit’s played a pivotal role in the criminal case against Binance and its executives, when the exchange’s founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to breaking U.S. anti-money laundering laws as part of a $4.3 billion settlement. However, no other details were specifically given about the unit’s efforts on the matter.

Meanwhile, the IRS is struggling to come up with a new framework for crypto as in late Oct. 2023, the agency extended the period for comments on crypto tax reporting requirements until Jan. 25, 2024 in response to the “significant number of comments” it received from various parties.

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As crypto.news reported, the proposed rule, published on Oct. 19, aims to implement the provisions of the American Families Plan Act of 2023, signed into law by President Joe Biden in August. The rule would require crypto exchanges and other intermediaries to report information on transactions involving digital assets worth more than $10,000 to the IRS and the taxpayers.

The rule would also require crypto businesses to verify the identity of their customers and maintain records of their transactions. According to U.S. regulators, the rule is intended to enhance tax compliance and transparency in the crypto sector and prevent money laundering and other illicit activities.

Read more: Turkey seeks to exit FATF’s ‘grey list’ with crypto licensing and taxes

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