Spain's tax agency, the Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT), is going to send notices to the cryptocurrency traders despite the country's ongoing battle with the  Coronavirus  Coronavirus The outbreak of Covid-19 or Coronavirus in early 2020 has since redefined the financial services industry. Brokers have been forced to quickly adapt to several changes, both positive and negative.This includes the FX industry, which saw surges in volumes across the retail and institutional space in Q1 2020. This trend can be explained by an outflow of volatility, coupled with countries taking major moves to stabilize their respective economies.In conjunction with uncertainty caused by the virus, most countries also resorted to lockdowns in a bid to stifle the virus’ spread. At the time of writing, nobody knows whether this tactic will succeed in controlling Covid-19, though its early impact on financial markets is being felt already.Equity markets across most exchanges effectively crumbled by nearly a third in early 2020, with the worst being seen in March 2020. Stock markets have since rebounded, though only with the help of broad-based stimulus programs. Nowhere was this more prevalent than in the United States, with the Federal Reserve resorting to measures not used since the Great Financial Crisis. This included trillions in bond-buying purchases in a bid to stabilize the economy.The outbreak of Covid-19 also saw the collapse of the global oil market, which saw futures briefly enter into negative territory. Highly reduced demand out of China and most economies, as well as a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia have exacerbated this trend.Effects of Covid-19 on BrokersIn the retail space, forex brokers have experienced an early surge in trading volumes in 2020. This can be explained by a large uptick in potential clients, ironically due to stay at home orders and quarantining.It remains to be seen whether this trend will hold longer term as middle-aged potential investors return to work in 2020. In terms of other operations, brokers have had to rethink traditional call centers and other mechanisms for reaching clients due to the disruption of the virus.A push for online call centers and other such support is likely to overtake other methods of dealing with clients with a vaccine as of yet not available. Longer-term, a looming recession can also potentially impact brokers with the pool of investors once again possibly shrinking. As the situation of Covid-19 is unprecedented, brokers have joined other entities in a wait-and-see mode. The outbreak of Covid-19 or Coronavirus in early 2020 has since redefined the financial services industry. Brokers have been forced to quickly adapt to several changes, both positive and negative.This includes the FX industry, which saw surges in volumes across the retail and institutional space in Q1 2020. This trend can be explained by an outflow of volatility, coupled with countries taking major moves to stabilize their respective economies.In conjunction with uncertainty caused by the virus, most countries also resorted to lockdowns in a bid to stifle the virus’ spread. At the time of writing, nobody knows whether this tactic will succeed in controlling Covid-19, though its early impact on financial markets is being felt already.Equity markets across most exchanges effectively crumbled by nearly a third in early 2020, with the worst being seen in March 2020. Stock markets have since rebounded, though only with the help of broad-based stimulus programs. Nowhere was this more prevalent than in the United States, with the Federal Reserve resorting to measures not used since the Great Financial Crisis. This included trillions in bond-buying purchases in a bid to stabilize the economy.The outbreak of Covid-19 also saw the collapse of the global oil market, which saw futures briefly enter into negative territory. Highly reduced demand out of China and most economies, as well as a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia have exacerbated this trend.Effects of Covid-19 on BrokersIn the retail space, forex brokers have experienced an early surge in trading volumes in 2020. This can be explained by a large uptick in potential clients, ironically due to stay at home orders and quarantining.It remains to be seen whether this trend will hold longer term as middle-aged potential investors return to work in 2020. In terms of other operations, brokers have had to rethink traditional call centers and other mechanisms for reaching clients due to the disruption of the virus.A push for online call centers and other such support is likely to overtake other methods of dealing with clients with a vaccine as of yet not available. Longer-term, a looming recession can also potentially impact brokers with the pool of investors once again possibly shrinking. As the situation of Covid-19 is unprecedented, brokers have joined other entities in a wait-and-see mode. Read this Term.

Originally reported by Europa Press earlier this week, the tax agency will send notices between April 1 to June 30 to around 66,000 digital currency investors.

This will be the second consecutive year for the Spanish agency to send notices to crypto investors as last year it handed out 14,700 notices - making the estimated figure for 2020 three times.

In Spain, digital currencies are taxed under the capital gains tax laws, the rate of which ranges from 19 percent to 23 percent.

The Spanish tax authority has been actively pointing out crypto traders since 2015, and to properly tax crypto incomes, the Spanish authorities are also collecting data from over 60 crypto platforms, including several crypto exchanges.

Apart from the digital currency traders, the tax agency is also going to send notices to the individuals with property rentals and having an income source from abroad.

Crypto taxation struggles

Though Spain is taxing crypto profits in double digits, it's neighbor Portugal last year announced a complete exemption on crypto trading and  Payments  Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonly the basis of exchange involves fiat currency or legal tender, be it in the form of cash, credit or bank transfers, debit, or checks. While typically associated with cash transfers, payments can also be made in anything of perceived value, be it stock or bartering – though this is far more limited today than it has been in the past.The Largest Players in the Payments IndustryFor most individuals, the payments industry is dominated currently by card companies such as Visa or Mastercard, which facilitate the use of credit or debit expenditures. More recently, this industry has seen the rise of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments services, which have gained tremendous traction in Europe, the United States, and Asia, among other continents.One of the biggest parameters for payments is timing, which looms as a crucial element for execution. By this metric, consumer demand incentivizes technology that prioritizes the fastest payment execution.This can help explain the preference for debit and credit payments overtaking check or money orders, which in previous decades were much more commonly utilized. A multi-billion-dollar industry, the payments space has seen some of the most innovation and advances in recent years as companies look to push contactless technology with faster execution times. One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonly the basis of exchange involves fiat currency or legal tender, be it in the form of cash, credit or bank transfers, debit, or checks. While typically associated with cash transfers, payments can also be made in anything of perceived value, be it stock or bartering – though this is far more limited today than it has been in the past.The Largest Players in the Payments IndustryFor most individuals, the payments industry is dominated currently by card companies such as Visa or Mastercard, which facilitate the use of credit or debit expenditures. More recently, this industry has seen the rise of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments services, which have gained tremendous traction in Europe, the United States, and Asia, among other continents.One of the biggest parameters for payments is timing, which looms as a crucial element for execution. By this metric, consumer demand incentivizes technology that prioritizes the fastest payment execution.This can help explain the preference for debit and credit payments overtaking check or money orders, which in previous decades were much more commonly utilized. A multi-billion-dollar industry, the payments space has seen some of the most innovation and advances in recent years as companies look to push contactless technology with faster execution times. Read this Term.

Meanwhile, other global tax agencies are also gearing up to send notifications to individuals not reporting any profits incurred from digital currency-related activities.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) last month warned crypto profiteers of stiff penalties if they fail to report on their digital currency holdings or incomes.

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) also sent letters to taxpayers who might have failed to report income and pay the resulting tax from cryptocurrency transactions.

In South Korea, however, the debate on taxing cryptocurrencies still persists as different agencies have different views on the sector.