COURT AUTHORIZES SERVICE OF JOHN DOE SUMMONS SEEKING IDENTITIES OF U.S. TAXPAYERS WHO HAVE USED CRYPTOCURRENCY
/The Justice Department released a press release noting that a federal court in the Northern District of California entered an order today authorizing the IRS to serve a John Doe summons on Payward Ventures Inc., and Subsidiaries d/b/a Kraken (Kraken) seeking information about U.S. taxpayers who conducted at least the equivalent of $20,000 in transactions in cryptocurrency during the years 2016 to 2020. The IRS is seeking the records of Americans who engaged in business with or through Kraken, a digital currency exchanger headquartered in San Francisco, California.
The IRS Is focused on cryptocurrency tax evasion as cryptocurrency can be used for illicit purposes. If you haven’t reported your income from the sale or exchange of cryptocurrency, you should consider fixing the issue before the IRS goes after you. If you have properly reported your income, you should make sure your books and records are organized in case of IRS audit. As noted previously, the IRS is threatening increased audits for high-net-worth individuals and the new administration is intent on aggressively increasing their budget for audit and compliance.