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[Hong Kong establishes a dedicated task force to provide answers and technical support for crypto-asset reporting and tax department registration]

Hong Kong's Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Joseph Chan Ho-lim, revealed that in response to the global trend of strengthening tax regulation of digital assets and combating cross-border tax evasion, crypto-asset reporting will be implemented in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China starting in 2027. Under common understanding, Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, and others commonly seen in global markets will all be included in the reporting scope. To ensure the effective implementation of the crypto-asset reporting framework, Hong Kong will implement a series of arrangements, including mandatorily requiring crypto-asset service providers with a reporting nexus to Hong Kong to register with the tax department, and requiring relevant service providers to keep due diligence records. Currently, Hong Kong has established a dedicated task force to provide technical support to the industry and answer inquiries. It is reported that the crypto industry is focused on at least two key aspects: first, the areas covered by the tax department's relevant guidelines, especially whether the scope of "covered service providers" will extend to custody, brokerage, and over-the-counter trading; second, the list of the first batch of exchange partners, which is considered to directly determine which countries' tax authorities will be able to see transaction data on Hong Kong platforms after 2028.