PANews news on May 8, according to Beincrypto, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) launched nearly 400 audits to curb Crypto Assets tax evasion, aiming to recover about 39.5 million Canadian dollars of suspected unpaid taxes. The move highlights the Canada Revenue Agency's determination to combat tax evasion and demonstrates a strategy to strengthen crypto-compliance compliance. Although the audit is ongoing, the CRA is also aware of the need to strengthen public education to ensure transparency and compliance in Crypto Assets trading. Senior tax lawyers have criticized the current measures for inadequacy and called for greater education. In response to the challenge, Canada plans to implement the Encryption Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) by 2026 and emphasizes the need for Crypto Assets capital gains to be included in tax returns.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced that it has begun auditing about 400 cases, saying it will strengthen the crackdown on tax evasion on virtual assets, according to Golden Finance. The Canada Revenue Agency plans to recover approximately $39.5 million in suspected unpaid taxes related to virtual assets. The Canada Revenue Agency explained that there is an urgent need to strengthen public education about the tax liability of virtual assets, and that the goal of strengthening the fight against tax evasion is to ensure that all taxable Crypto Assets transactions are accurately and transparently reported. Previously, Canada announced plans to implement the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Crypto Assets Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) by 2026. The updated version of the CARF, a tax standard designed to address tax evasion on virtual assets, provides for the collection of information on virtual asset transactions outside of its jurisdiction.

Patrick McHenry, chairman of the Financial Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, Senator Cynthia Lummis, and other bipartisan lawmakers sent a letter to regulators (the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve Board of Directors, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration) urging them to make it clear that they will not implement the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) accounting bulletin SAB 121. This action follows the Government Accountability Office (GAO) ruled that SAB 121 constitutes a "rule" for the Congressional Review Act (CRA). Members of parliament noted that the accounting treatment of SAB 121 deviates from established standards and may not accurately reflect the legal and economic obligations of custodians, increasing the risk of consumer loss. In addition, the proclamation was not filed by Congress or the GAO, nor was it published in the congressional records pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, so it should not have legal effect. As a result, lawmakers are asking regulators to clarify through guidance or other actions that SAB 121 is unenforceable under the recent GAO ruling.

The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been picketing non-compliance in the crypto space, but the SEC has been criticized by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for not treating policies as formal rules when issuing crypto accounting standards. This has sparked a policy controversy. Despite the GAO's accusations, it probably won't change much at the moment. The agency may take corrective action in response to GAO's allegation that it circumvented the Congressional Review Act (CRA) and should have filed Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121) with Congress when it issued controversial policies in 2022. At its core, SAB 121 requires financial institutions to include their crypto assets in their own balance sheets when they receive them. This effectively requires banks to back up their customers' digital assets with expensive capital reserves. The implementation of SAB 121 has sparked controversy, with some arguing that it will keep financial institutions away from the crypto industry as they are unwilling to bear the extra cost of their customers' digital assets. This can lead to people handing over assets to unregulated companies, increasing risk. In addition, the GAO's observations may raise other legal challenges. Crypto firms that are hindered in finding suitable asset custodians may consider taking legal action against regulators. If the SEC takes enforcement action on accounting issues, its target can blame the agency for failing to follow proper legal procedures. （CoinDesk）

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) said that the Securities and Exchange Commission's guidance on how companies should account for their cryptocurrency holdings must be legally published before Congress before they can go into effect. The SEC's Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121, issued in March 2022, requires companies that hold crypto to record their customers' cryptocurrency holdings as liabilities on their balance sheets. The proclamation is subject to the Congressional Review Act, which requires agencies to submit a report on the rule to Congress before it can go into effect, the congressional watchdog agency said Tuesday. The CRA was enacted in 1996 to strengthen congressional oversight of agency-making rules. According to the GAO, Congress will then have the power to review and veto the rules within 60 days. "We conclude that the proclamation is a rule for the purposes of the CRA because it meets the APA [Administrative Procedure Act] definition of a rule and no exceptions apply," the GAO said on Tuesday. Therefore, the proclamation must be submitted to Congress. ” The SEC said the announcement was not subject to the CRA because it did not meet the definition of the rules, according to the GAO. （The Block）

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) today released the results of an investigation finding that the SEC did not comply with the Congressional Review Act (CRA) by failing to send its crypto accounting bulletin SAB 121 to Congress in accordance with official rules. In response, the SEC said: "The GAO's opinion expresses its view that SAB 121 is a 'rule' of the CRA." This opinion does not otherwise affect the status of SAB 121. ” It is reported that SAB 121 requires financial companies that hold customers' crypto assets to record these assets on their own balance sheets and reserve capital for these assets. The crypto industry and U.S. Republican lawmakers argue that this undermines the willingness of regulated banks to act as crypto custodians, and that the announcement is inconsistent with the way crypto assets are treated with other assets.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued an announcement saying that the SEC "crossed the line" in handling controversial crypto accounting announcements, Gold Finance reported. On March 31, 2022, the SEC issued Employee Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (SAB 121), which provides explanatory guidance on how covered entities should interpret and disclose their custodial obligations to protect crypto assets held by users of their platforms. The GAO said the SEC did not file a report with Congress or the Comptroller General on the Proclamation under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which means SAB 121 should go through a different process, including filing with Congress before it goes into effect. SAB 121 requires financial firms that hold customers' crypto assets to record these assets on their own balance sheets, requiring capital to be reserved for these assets. The crypto industry and U.S. Republican lawmakers argue that this undermines the willingness of regulated banks to act as crypto custodians and that it treats crypto assets differently than others. It's unclear what action the SEC needs to take in response to the GAO's findings.

PANews May 13 news, according to a creditor notice issued by accounting firm Ernst & Young on Friday night, former users of the bankrupt Canadian encryption exchange Quadriga CX will soon receive 13% of the claimed amount. Creditors, including Canada Post and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), filed 17,648 claims totaling C$303.1 million ($222.3 million) against Quadriga, the documents show. There were 15 claims for more than $1 million, 28 claims for between $500,000 and $999,999, and 15,236 claims for less than $10,000. The cryptocurrency claim amount will be determined based on the market price on April 15, 2019. Users claiming Bitcoin will receive C$6,739.08 per bitcoin, and users claiming ethereum will receive C$223.45 per Ether, EY said.