Crypto-assets and tax evasion: a proposal for convergence between tax transparency and global criminal cooperation

Abstract

This study examines how the absence of a coherent global framework for the regulation and supervision of crypto-assets generates regulatory fragmentation and informational deficiencies that may facilitate cross-border tax evasion and tax fraud. This situation calls for a coordinated international response capable of overcoming the limitations of national approaches and strengthening global tax transparency. From this perspective, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) provides a substantive basis for the development of a global standard for identification, due diligence, and information reporting, while the European Union’s experience with the Directive on Administrative Cooperation demonstrates the feasibility of incorporating such a standard into a more coherent system of mutual assistance, based on the active involvement of platforms and other third parties required to provide tax-relevant information.

Against this background, the study develops an original proposal aimed at establishing a more effective global framework to address tax evasion through crypto-assets. The proposal is structured around three complementary pillars: (i) the creation of common standards for identification, due diligence, and information reporting; (ii) the strengthening of administrative cooperation among tax authorities; and (iii) the proportionate use of international criminal cooperation instruments in the most serious cases of asset concealment and cross-border tax evasion.