Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Public money, private plans: MPs demand Post Office transparency

      13 June 2025

      Coal to cash: South Africa gets major boost for energy shift

      13 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      10 red flags for Apple investors

      13 June 2025
    • World

      Yahoo tries to make its mail service relevant again

      13 June 2025

      Qualcomm shows off new chip for AI smart glasses

      11 June 2025

      Trump tariffs to dim 2025 smartphone shipments

      4 June 2025

      Shrimp Jesus and the AI ad invasion

      4 June 2025

      Apple slams EU rules as ‘flawed and costly’ in major legal pushback

      2 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025

      South Africa unveils big state digital reform programme

      12 May 2025

      Is this the end of Google Search as we know it?

      12 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025

      TCS | Sentiv, and the story behind the buyout of Altron Nexus

      3 June 2025

      TCS | Signal restored: Unpacking the Blue Label and Cell C turnaround

      28 May 2025
    • Opinion

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025

      Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

      29 May 2025

      Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

      14 April 2025

      Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

      9 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Cryptocurrencies » South African crypto traders should expect tax crackdown

    South African crypto traders should expect tax crackdown

    By Staff Reporter5 November 2020
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    Image: Aleksi Räisä

    South African cryptocurrency traders can expect a tightening tax net in the near future.

    Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin were designed to allow anonymous, peer-to-peer transactions anywhere in the world, and that opens up plenty of opportunities to avoid tax, but there are still ways that the South African Revenue Service (Sars) can track the gains made by cryptocurrency traders, says Wiehann Olivier, partner at the audit division of Mazars South Africa.

    Sars is paying close attention to crypto activity in South Africa, given its widespread adoption. Over the last five years, South Africa has emerged as one of the world’s most notable cryptocurrency adopters; an estimated 13% of its Internet users either own or use cryptocurrencies.

    Sars currently relies on the honesty of South African taxpayers to include their realised gains on cryptocurrencies as part of their taxable income

    Investors can store their cryptocurrencies in paper or hardware wallets instead of relying on a custodian such as an exchange to safeguard their assets. This makes it impossible to confiscate these cryptocurrencies and extremely difficult to track their movements.

    “There is also the option to rely on a series of smoke and mirrors. Different types of cryptocurrencies can be exchanged for one another and passed through a series of wallets and public key addresses to attempt to confuse the trading activities and to evade taxes,” says Olivier.

    He notes that Sars currently relies on the honesty of South African taxpayers to include their realised gains on cryptocurrencies as part of their taxable income.

    New regulations

    “Sars has not yet released any specific legislation around the taxation of cryptocurrencies, besides that taxpayers need to include any realised gains from the trading of crypto currencies in their taxable income. However, we believe Sars will publish new regulations in the coming years to have a more specific focus on these digital assets,” says Olivier.

    “One of these interventions may include introducing regulations that require all South African cryptocurrency exchanges to share information with Sars, making it more difficult to avoid taxes. With that said, it will require Sars to gear itself to ensure that it can collect on what it is owed.”

    There is also the possibility that offshore cryptocurrency exchanges and banks might adhere to the same agreements already in place between Sars and foreign institutional investors, which share individuals and companies’ trading and asset holding data with revenue services from various countries.

    This would again make it more difficult to avoid paying tax by moving assets out of South Africa.

    Olivier says businesses should prepare for tighter regulation of their digital assets. “Trading companies should consider acquiring the services of firms that can supply confirmation and reporting around their clients’ digital currency audits, well before new regulations are introduced.”

    With the introduction of stricter tax legislation a virtual certainty in the next few years, Olivier adds that preparing for these interventions well ahead of time may be beneficial for cryptocurrency exchanges, traders and investors.

    “The regulation of digital assets in South Africa could even bring exciting business opportunities for many entrepreneurs and business,” he adds.

    • This article was originally published on Moneyweb and is used here with permission


    Bitcoin Mazars Sars top Wiehann Olivier
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleJSE to deploy blockchain-based investment platform
    Next Article Bitcoin rally gathers steam, with chart watchers eyeing $20 000

    Related Posts

    Bitcoin smashes R2-million mark in record-breaking rally

    22 May 2025

    ‘Advanced’ data analytics, AI to help Sars reach ‘tougher’ collections target

    21 May 2025

    Trump tariffs are now slamming crypto

    7 April 2025
    Company News

    Huawei Watch Fit 4 Series: smarter sensors, sharper design, stronger performance

    13 June 2025

    Change Logic and BankservAfrica set new benchmark with PayShap roll-out

    13 June 2025

    SAPHILA 2025 – transcending with purpose, connection and AI-powered vision

    13 June 2025
    Opinion

    Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

    2 June 2025

    South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

    2 June 2025

    Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

    29 May 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.