Canada Revenue Agency says 40% of crypto platform users pose tax evasion or non-compliance risk

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) said in a Dec. 9 email statement that roughly 40% of taxpayers using cryptocurrency platforms are at risk of tax evasion or high-risk non-compliance. The CRA's crypto asset audit team has 35 auditors handling more than 230 related cases and has recovered over CAD 100 million in taxes through audits over the past three years. The agency acknowledged that current Canadian laws have clear limitations in identifying crypto asset users, leaving regulators unable to reliably determine who uses crypto or assess their tax compliance. Because of this, the CRA has repeatedly sought user data from platforms, including a request to Dapper Labs for information on its top 18,000 users, but after negotiations between lawyers and officials it ultimately obtained data on only 2,500 users.