Regulation News From The Land Down Under

Australian Senator Andrew Bragg has proposed a regulatory framework for the crypto industry at Blockchain Week 2022 which he hopes will show Australia’s willingness to play a more prominent role.

• The proposed Digital Services Act (DSA) will target crypto custody, de-banking, taxing and have a particular focus on decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) operations.

• Bragg believes that DAOs pose “an existential threat to the tax base” under the current rules.
• According to data published by the Parliament of Australia, company tax accounts for the second-largest source of revenue for the government behind income tax.
• The Senator also said “reliance on company tax is unsustainable” should the number of organisations acting as DAOs increase.
• The DSA would task the government with creating a framework that allows the government to generate tax revenue without damaging the core principles of DAOs.

Showing willingness to fairly regulate the crypto industry is important as according to a survey from pollster Finder, 22.9% of Australians own crypto.