Sweden Cracks Down on Crypto Mining Data Centers for Tax Evasion

Sweden’s tax authority has exposed tax irregularities in 18 data centers involved in undisclosed cryptocurrency mining operations. The investigation, spanning three years, uncovered deliberate exploitation of tax incentives by these companies, leading to a hefty tax demand of 990 million Swedish krona ($91 million). The head of the agency’s intelligence unit, Patrik Lillqvist, stated that these actions were attempts to gain unfair tax benefits, involving misleading information about their business activities, according to Skatteverket.

The crypto mining centers often declared VAT-liable business operations to evade taxes and mask their actual cryptocurrency mining activities. This led to significant tax revenue losses through incorrect state payments and unreported crypto assets. Additionally, the tax authority has raised concerns about potential money laundering activities due to the lack of regulatory oversight on crypto mining operations.

Despite challenges in identifying the actual business conducted and the total amount of crypto mined, the authorities have made substantial progress. Ten decisions have been appealed, with the courts largely upholding the initial findings. In one revealing instance, a company misrepresented its operations as consulting and high-performance computing development, while exclusively serving a crypto mining customer.