Overview
CoinDesk quoted Lisa Zarlenga in a July 12 article titled "IRS Confirms It Trained Staff to Find Crypto Wallets." The article discusses a leaked slide deck presentation from an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) cyber training session, which details a number of ways the agency's criminal investigators might find potential crypto tax cheats. According to the presentation, the IRS may consider subpoenaing major tech companies in search of taxpayers’ unreported cryptocurrency holdings.
Zarlenga notes that the IRS's subpoena power applies in civil cases as well as criminal ones. "While this presentation was given by the criminal investigation unit and clearly indicates that criminal investigation will use that tool, there is nothing preventing the civil side from using it as well," she says.
However, Zarlenga points out, the IRS is required to notify taxpayers before it subpoenas third parties, so people will likely know if the tax agency is looking for their bitcoin.
The full article can be read at CoinDesk.
