According to a supplement to the 2024 annual budget, Canada expects to apply the international Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) for taxation by 2026. The country is getting an early start on the new standard, which is expected to be observed by 47 countries by 2027.
The CARF would impose new reporting requirements on crypto asset service providers (CASPs), such as cryptocurrency exchanges, crypto-asset brokers and dealers and crypto-asset automated teller machine operators, whether they are individuals or business entities. The supplemental report listed “stablecoins, derivatives issued in the form of a crypto-asset, and certain nonfungible tokens” as examples of crypto assets.
CASPs would be required to report to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) transactions between crypto assets and fiat and crypto assets for other crypto assets. Crypto asset transfers carried out by CASPs, including payment processing, when the value exceeds $50,000 United States dollars, would also need to be reported. In addition:
“Crypto-asset service providers would be required to obtain and report information on each of their customers, including name, address, date of birth, jurisdiction(s) of residence, and taxpayer identification numbers for each jurisdiction of residence.”
CASPs resident in Canada or doing business in Canada would be subject to the requirements. Transactions by Canadian residents and nonresidents, whether individuals or entities, would be reported.
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Central bank digital currency and “digital representations of fiat currencies” (such as stablecoins) would not be reported under the CARF, as they are accounted for under amendments to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Common Reporting Standard (CRS) for the sharing of information among international tax authorities.
Information collected under the CARF would also be shared internationally. Like the CRS, the CARF was developed by the OECD. The creation of the CARF was motivated by the fact that the CRS did not capture transactions that did not go through traditional financial intermediaries.
The OECD introduced the CARF at a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in October 2022. In November 2023, 47 countries pledged to incorporate the CARF into domestic law by 2027. The OECD has 38 members, mainly in Europe.