Hong Kong commits to implementing a crypto asset reporting framework and plans to complete legislative revisions on or before 2026

PANews reported on December 17 that the Hong Kong government recently announced that it has informed the OECD Global Forum on Tax Transparency and Effective Exchange of Information that Hong Kong is committed to implementing the Crypto-Asset Declaration Framework (Declaration Framework) to improve international tax transparency and combat cross-border tax evasion activities. . Hong Kong is committed to implementing the reporting framework under the principle of reciprocity with suitable partners who meet standards for protecting data confidentiality and security. Taking into account the latest timetable set by the Global Forum, the government initially plans to complete the required local legislative amendments on or before 2026 and start the first automatic exchange of information under the reporting framework with relevant tax jurisdictions from 2028.

The OECD announced a reporting framework in June 2023 to ensure that global tax transparency is maintained. As an extension of the existing Common Reporting Standard for the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters, the reporting framework provides for a similar mechanism to automatically exchange crypto-asset accounts and transactions on an annual basis in tax jurisdictions where crypto-asset users or controllers are tax residents. Relevant tax information. To ensure a fair and effective global implementation of the reporting framework, the Global Forum has invited all tax jurisdictions (including Hong Kong) with relevant crypto-asset industries and identified as directly relevant to the reporting framework to implement the reporting framework.