South Africa: new self-regulatory crypto association and old taxes

South African authorities have recently announced two major events able to change the country’s cryptocurrency market and related activities.

The first one, initiated by the South African Reserve Bank or the SARB, is a new cryptocurrency-related self-regulatory organization similar to the Russian Association of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency (RACIB) or the British CryptoUK. One of the main goals of this new market-monitoring body is to form recommendations for legislators, ensuring that the corresponding bills and their terms are not obsolete.

The second event is described in the statement of the South African Revenue Service (SARS). According to the officials, the normal income tax is applied to cryptocurrency operations, gains and losses. The SARS warns that failure to pay taxes is grounds for penalties. Mining is included in the list of possible taxed cryptocurrency gains. This approach differs with some countries where mining and cryptocurrency trading activities are taxed differently.

As noted in older reports, the cryptocurrency community in South Africa is quite vibrant, while the neighbouring countries’ residents are even using Bitcoin as a store of value.

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