Crypto Crackdown Goes Global
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development just added a shiny new badge to its tax-transparency sash: 75 jurisdictions, “the vast majority” of digital-asset hubs, have now committed to its Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), Coingeek reports.
Why it matters: With crypto volumes still topping billions a day, governments have been hungry for a standard way to spot untaxed gains. CARF promises to do for Bitcoin what the Common Reporting Standard did for bank accounts. For further insights on similar tax transparency initiatives in Nigeria, see Nigeria joins global data-sharing pact as tax shake-ups ripple across sectors.
The details: The OECD’s Global Forum said in a December 2 report that the 75 adopters range from G20 heavyweights to small, token-friendly islands. Sign-ups obligate exchanges and brokers in those jurisdictions to collect customer data and beam it to tax offices worldwide. “Widespread uptake” is how the Forum described the momentum.
The reaction was swift. Industry lobbyists warned that smaller exchanges face steep compliance costs, while transparency advocates cheered. Tax pros are bracing for a flood of new cross-border information requests as soon as the rules switch on, currently penciled in for 2027, according to the report.
Around the Tax World
• San Marino’s STTR first-mover advantage… The microstate became the first country to ratify the Multilateral Convention that hard-wires Pillar Two’s Subject to Tax Rule into bilateral treaties, while Georgia expanded its BEPS treaty coverage to about 2,000 agreements (OECD).
• Portugal’s PE headache… Firms whose board members have decamped to Lisbon may be triggering management permanent establishments without even knowing it, warn Tiago Marreiros Moreira and Francisca de Landerset in International Tax Review. The lack of Portuguese guidance leaves the OECD’s profit-attribution rules as the only compass.
• Nigeria shoots for the moon… After beating its 2025 target by 16%, the Federal Inland Revenue Service now aims to collect ₦31 trillion in 2026, Executive Chairman Zacch Adedeji told The Whistler. A fresh MoU with France’s tax agency will help digitise audits, he said. This initiative aligns with modernized tax administration processes outlined in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025.
• Tax Justice Network cries foul… Governments lost an estimated US$495 billion to U.S. multinationals alone between 2016-2021, the latest State of Tax Justice report finds, calling the shortfall “more than enough” to fund climate pledges (Corruption Watch).
By the Numbers
Prime Number: 75 , That’s how many jurisdictions have pledged to implement CARF, covering what the OECD calls “the vast majority” of crypto-asset centres.
Looking Ahead
All eyes now turn to the OECD’s 2026 implementation handbook and the race by exchanges to retrofit their KYC pipes before CARF reporting goes live.