Even when the DGFIP, France’s tax watchdog, has no way to verify the data submitted, the French National Assembly passed an article establishing that contributors should disclose funds over 5,000 € held in self-custody, affecting wallets like Metamask, Phantom, and even Ledger.
Key Takeaways:
The French National Assembly passed a bill forcing users to report self-hosted wallets holding over €5,000. The DGFIP warns that tracking data for these wallets makes users prime targets for hackers. Gregory Raymond predicts that this rule will probably fail, as the government is hostile towards it. France Surprises With Self-Custody Wallet Disclosure Article In Anti-Fraud LawDeputy Daniel Labaronne opposed the inclusion of this article in the law, arguing it would be impossible for the DGFIP to ascertain the ownership of these assets. “Likewise, how could it verify whether an individual owns a piano in their home?” he asked. Nonetheless, the motion to suppress the article was defeated.
The measure, framed as another move to fight tax fraud, was taken against the DGFIP and the French government recommendation, as the agency acknowledged that it had no tools to verify the data provided by contributors.
“It should be noted that a generalized declaration of these portfolios would lead to the centralization of highly sensitive data, such as the identities of the holders and the value of their assets.”
In this regard, it was ratified that “in a context of frequent cyberattacks against large databases, this information would become a prime target for hackers, entailing heightened risks of fraud.”
