Last week, the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service (RFB) released Consultation Solution No. 184, released on Monday (24). This consultation established the collection of taxes on cryptocurrencies that varies between 15% and 22.5%.
What caught the most attention is that Brazilian exchanges would have to charge this tax at source. In other words, discount the amount charged automatically, according to the amount of the operation.
The measure generated a lot of controversy and raised fears among those who use exchanges based in Brazil. However, lawyer Rafael Steinfeld, a specialist in cryptocurrency taxation, made some clarifications regarding the Consultation Solution.
Specific case
According to Steinfeld, the IRS released the consultation solution based on a specific taxpayer case. In this sense, Steinfeld clarifies that the body has not instituted new forms of tax collection nor published any recent rules on the subject.
These consultations exist as a way for the IRS to provide tax guidance to taxpayers. However, they are not necessarily binding on all tax transactions.
“The consultation solution issued to a given taxpayer is only valid for that specific case, but can serve as a reference for other taxpayers in similar situations. Therefore, it is incorrect to state that national exchanges must withhold income tax on operations with crypto assets, as the Consultation Solution refers to a single type of operation, which is not even offered by Brazilian brokers”, explained the lawyer.
The specific case of the aforementioned Consultation Solution deals exclusively with a company that receives crypto assets from investors through temporary assignment, supposedly carrying out trades and paying returns of 3% monthly.
These income, obtained through the temporary transfer of cryptoassets to third parties, would be taxed by IRRF (Withholding Income Tax). In the specific case of the Consultation Solution, Steinfeld states that there is no mention of other types of investments in crypto assets.
One of the fears is that this tax would act as a “quota eater” in every financial transaction carried out on exchanges in Brazil. But Steinfeld explains that this analogy is unfounded.
“Looking for analogies outside of the specific case is creating assumptions that cause misinformation and hinder Brazilian players. Therefore, investors can rest assured and operate on national exchanges, as they will not be taxed at source,” explained the lawyer.
Source: https://www.criptofacil.com/brasil-nao-vai-tributar-criptomoedas-na-fonte-esclarece-advogado/
