8,000 people pay taxes for their crypto profits every year, according to the Swedish Tax Agency. This is an increase from a few years ago when there were significantly fewer. But the Swedish Tax Agency is not at all satisfied. This is because hundreds of thousands of Swedes are estimated to make a profit from crypto trading every year.
In other words, it is only a fraction, 5 percent according to the Swedish Tax Agency’s estimates, that is doing the right thing for itself.
DO NOT MISS: The krone continues to strengthen against the euro
Crypto has a turnover of 19 billion
The total declared sales amounts rose during the same period from SEK 36 million in 2013 to just under SEK 19 billion in 2021. The declared profits have risen from SEK 10 million in 2013 to just under SEK 2.7 billion in 2021.
– By looking at figures from foreign crypto exchanges and crypto exchanges and comparing them with the number of people who record the sale of cryptocurrencies in the declaration, we can state that few follow the rules. The declared sales of crypto assets make up about a tenth of the estimated total sales, says Lina Anderssonanalyst and report writer at the Swedish Tax Agency, in one press release.
Tax error of 90 percent
The tax error is therefore estimated to be 90 percent or SEK 1.5 billion.
– The number of people who report sales of cryptocurrencies has increased until 2021, but it is still only 5 percent of Swedes who have sold cryptocurrencies who have declared their sales, says Anna Olofsson, specialist crypto taxation at the Swedish Tax Agency.
The report is new and puts the magnifying glass on a white spot in the Tax Agency’s documentation for what money is missing from the state treasury. SEK 1.5 billion is not a pittance.
Sweden can inspire other countries
In addition, the Swedish Tax Agency’s report is the first of its kind and other countries’ corresponding tax authorities can be inspired by Sweden in mapping the unpaid taxes.
– The report is important because so far we have had limited knowledge of the extent of the tax error linked to the accounting of cryptocurrency, says Lina Andersson, analyst at the Swedish Tax Agency.
After the mapping, the next step will be to actually bring home the lost roughly one billion to the treasury. But the Swedish Tax Agency has not announced how it intends to do this at the present time.
Read more about finance:
Only a few avoid tax on tips – that’s how high the tax is
Then the tax will be reduced for one million Swedes – are you one of them?
Foreign currencies cost the shirt – wait to change
This is how much you pay in tax – from municipality to municipality