Spain tightens its tax hunt: Now they're after your Bitcoins
The Spanish government has decided that taking half of your salary in the form of taxes is not enough. Not content with taking every last penny from you in every possible way (IRPF, VAT, and even taxes on soft drinks), the wise ministers of the Council of the Monarchy have now approved a draft law that directly targets cryptocurrencies. Yes, you read that right: those bitcoins, ethereums, and other "virtual coins" that you keep as a safe haven are now in the sights of the Treasury.
It turns out that the latest brilliance of our representatives is the transposition of the DAC8 regulation of the European Union, which basically obliges any exchange, wallet, broker, or crypto shack to provide information about their customers to the tax authorities. The bureaucrats of the EU have realized that, in order to squeeze more out of their citizens, they first need to know how much and where they are keeping their digital money.
Of course, this is not an effort to improve the country or the economy, far from it! It is simply a desperate search for funds to cover the holes left by their failed policies and uncontrolled administration. As the Ministry of Finance's statement said: "We want to regulate the obligation to identify the tax residence of cryptoasset users and to report on their transactions". In other words, they want to know where in the world you have hidden your cryptos and, with that, tighten the tap a little more to squeeze more euros (or satoshis, it doesn't matter) out of you.
And what's next? Well, surely some genius legislator will come up with the idea that, since we're here, they could also confiscate the savings that people keep under their mattresses. So don't be surprised to see the Guardia Civil and the National Police bursting into houses in search of hidden bills, gold ingots, or any form of value that the taxpayer has under their custody.
The most ironic thing of all is that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were born precisely to avoid parasitic governments and ambitious legislators from getting their hands on other people's money. They were created as a refuge to escape state control and preserve financial privacy. But of course, these small details escape the state machinery.
Fortunately, there are still coins like Monero, where privacy and anonymity are an essential part. Because one thing is clear: when a government needs money, it will try to take it from you by any means necessary. So, dear reader, if you are thinking of protecting your money from the tax authorities' clutches, it might be time to learn a little more about cryptocurrencies that value your privacy. You wouldn't want to find yourself with the Treasury knocking on your door for a "chat" about your bitcoin holdings.
The future looks dark for cryptoinvestors in Spain, but don't worry: if there's one thing cryptocurrencies have taught us, it's that there will always be ways to evade state control. Because, deep down, no centralized system can stop the decentralized spirit of financial freedom.
And in the meantime, our dear ministers will continue to look for new ways to take your savings that are under the mattress.
