A District Court in Massachusetts has authorized the Internal Revenue Service to use a John Doe Summons to find cryptocurrency investors. The action enables the IRS to use the summons for investors in Circle Internet Financial and its affiliates, including Poloniex.
The IRS is seeking information on taxpayers who conducted at least $20,000 in cryptocurrency transactions for the years 2016 to 2012. The IRS wants records of those who conducted business with or through Circle, a Boston, Mass.-based digital currency exchanger. T
he IRS wants Circle to produce records identifying any such U.S. taxpayers and documents related to their transactions. U.S. Judge Richard G. Stearns found there is a reasonable basis for believing that cryptocurrency users may have failed to comply with federal tax laws. The petition by the IRS does not allege any wrongdoing on the part of Circle. Instead, the IRS says there is reason to believe there is “an ascertainable group or class of persons” who may have failed to comply with tax laws.
Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards. Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that. A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind