Speaker Series: Tax & Law of Virtual Assets in the Metaverse - A Hong Kong Perspective (Hong Kong Campus)

Over the past few years, virtual assets have become widely adopted by vast part of the population. Among these, cryptocurrencies and Non-Fungible Tokens (“NFTs”) values are very volatile, investors can make astronomic profits by trading. Trading volumes have soared and become a sizeable financial market. Despite its lack of government oversight due to the decentralised blockchain technology that supports these kind of assets, governments and tax authorities are starting to set up frameworks to regulate and tax cryptocurrencies and NFTs. Therefore, understanding the new regulatory framework and proper tax planning may help reduce the tax liabilities on gains from crypto currencies and NFT trading. But, what laws are currently relevant in Hong Kong that regulate cryptocurrencies and NFTs and what laws are currently relevant in Hong Kong that determine taxation of cryptocurrencies and NFTs? The session will dive into how cryptocurrencies and NFTs are regulated in Hong Kong and how cryptocurrencies and NFTs will be taxed (with the aid of the Departmental Interpretation and Practice Notes No. 39 (Revised) (“DIPN 39”) issued by the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department) in Hong Kong. From a Hong Kong and overseas perspectives, whether the current laws are sufficient to regulate cryptocurrencies and NFTs, and whether the IRD should revise the DIPN 39 again and/or whether the Hong Kong government should introduce new tax law to tax cryptocurrencies and NFTs will be discussed as well. Event Venue: PwC Hong Kong 21/F Edinburgh Tower 15 Queen’s Road, Central, Hong Kong (Note: Face-to-Face places are limited)