Uniswap 旗下機構回覆英國稅務部門：如何看待對 DeFi 徵稅

原文：《Open Consultation: The Taxation of Decentralised Finance (DeFi) Involving the Lending and Staking of Cryptoassets (the "Consultation")》

編譯 ：TaxDAO

Uniswap 旗下機構 DEF 於 6 月 22 日回覆英國稅務海關總署（"HMRC"）有關 DeFi 稅收諮詢，其表明四大原則：

(i) align with the underlying economic substance of a typical DeFi transaction；

與典型 DeFi 交易的基本經濟實質保持一致；

(ii) exhibit utmost clarity and simplicity to promote tax compliance by minimising administrative burden on taxpayers

通過最大限度地減少納稅人的行政負擔，表現出最大程度的清晰度和簡單性，以促進稅收合規性；

(iii) be flexible and comprehensive in its application to account for future innovation；

其應用要靈活、全面，以適應未來的創新；

(iv) describe arrangements and associated tax obligations using standard market terminology.

使用標準市場術語描述安排相關稅收義務。

主要問題摘要：

Question : Are the rights of the lender to receive the lent or staked tokens of a legal nature? Please respond to this question with reference to any specific DeFi models you have an involvement in, highlighting any legal uncertainties.

問題：貸款人接收借出或質押代幣的權利是否具有法律性質？請參照您參與的任何特定 DeFi 模型來回答這個問題，並強調任何法律不確定性。

1. In relation to the proper characterisation of a "lender's" rights, it is essential to note that describing the "lender's" rights to receive the "lent" or "staked" tokens as being of a legal nature is not accurate. There are two key reasons for this:

關於"貸款人"權利的正確描述，必須注意的是，將"貸款人"接收"借出"或"質押"代幣的權利描述為具有法律性質是不準確的。這有兩個關鍵原因：

a. In a DeFi transaction, a user's "counterparty" is typically a smart contract, making it challenging to determine the legal relationship and identify parties who could defend against the "lender's" rights. Therefore, establishing a traditional legal framework for these relationships becomes complex and less straightforward as there is no "counterparty" with legal personality;

在 DeFi 交易中，使用者的"交易對手"通常是智能合約，因此很難確定法律關係並確定可以防禦"貸款人"權利的各方。因此，為這些關係建立傳統的法律框架變得複雜和不那麼簡單，因為沒有具有法人資格的"對應方";

b. DeFi's foundational concept aims to create a financial infrastructure in which trust is established through software protocols rather than traditional legal relationships and mechanisms. A legal relationship is only required when trust in human discretion is required for the relationship to function --- in traditional finance, consumers must trust intermediaries to issue transactions and, in the case of loans, borrowers to repay. On the other hand, DeFi is built on autonomous code (smart contracts) that functions without intermediation. Suggesting that such trust is established through legal means in DeFi would run counter to its fundamental innovation.

DeFi 的基本概念旨在創建一個金融基礎設施，通過軟件協議而不是傳統的法律關係和機制建立信任。只有當這種關係的運作需要對人類自由裁量權的信任時，才需要法律關係 --- --- 在傳統金融中，消費者必須信任中介機構來發放交易，在貸款的情況下，必須信任借款人來償還。另一方面，DeFi 建立在無需中介即可運行的自主代碼（智能合約）之上。暗示這種信任是通過 DeFi 中的合法手段建立的，將與其根本性創新背道而馳。

2. While we understand HMRC's interest in determining whether transactions in the DeFi space should have a condition or requirement of being legally binding, we believe that should not be their primary focus or demand. Although there is an argument against taxing transactions where no legal transfer of assets or creation/disposal of legal rights/obligations occurs, we expect that the desire to tax economic activity in DeFi should take precedence over technical concerns about legal characterisation. The nature of DeFi, both presently and as it evolves in the future, is centred around removing dependence on legal constructs to establish trust between parties. If HMRC only seeks to provide certainty in tax treatment when clearly enforceable legal rights are established, it would leave a significant portion of the market in a state of uncertainty and HMRC may risk hindering their ability for revenue collection from what would otherwise be recognised as revenue-generating activity.

雖然我們理解 HMRC 在確定 DeFi 領域的交易是否應具有具有法律約束力的條件或要求方面的興趣，但我們認為這不應成為他們的主要關注點或要求。儘管有人反對在沒有合法資產轉讓或合法權利/義務的創造/處置的情況下對交易徵稅，但我們預計，在 DeFi 中對經濟活動徵稅的願望應優先於對法律特徵的技術問題。DeFi 的本質，無論是現在還是未來的發展，都圍繞著消除對法律結構的依賴，以在各方之間建立信任。如果 HMRC 僅在建立明確可執行的合法權利時才尋求提供稅收待遇的確定性，這將使很大一部分市場處於不確定狀態，HMRC 可能會阻礙其從原本被視為創收活動的收入中徵稅的能力。

3. In the majority of cases, the nature of rights arising from DeFi lending and staking arrangements may not align with traditional legal frameworks, and the rights involved, if any, are more nuanced and not easily categorised within established legal concepts. Therefore, HMRC should adopt a comprehensive approach that recognises the unique characteristics of DeFi transactions. This would ensure a fair and accurate assessment of the tax implications and treatment of wealth creation derived from DeFi transactions.

在大多數情況下，DeFi 借貸和質押安排產生的權利性質可能與傳統法律框架不一致，所涉及的權利（如果有的話）更加微妙，不容易在既定的法律概念中分類。因此，HMRC 應採取全面的方法，認識到 DeFi 交易的獨特特徵。這將確保公平準確地評估 DeFi 交易產生的稅收影響和財富創造的處理。

Question : Do you favour a change in the rules to always treat the DeFi return as being of a revenue nature? What are the pros and cons?

問題 ：您是否贊成改變規則，始終將 DeFi 回報視為收入性質？有什麼優點和缺點？

1. Overall, we favour a change in the rules to treat the DeFi returns as being of a revenue nature by default.

總體而言，我們贊成改變規則，默認將 DeFi 回報視為收入性質。

Pros

優點

2. Previous HMRC guidance placed the burden on taxpayers to determine whether DeFi returns should be treated as capital or revenue. By defaulting to treating DeFi returns as revenue, it would provide individual taxpayers with clarity regarding the tax classification of their DeFi returns.

之前的 HMRC 指南將決定 DeFi 回報是否應視為資本或收入的納稅人承擔了負擔。通過默認將 DeFi 申報表視為收入，它將為個人納稅人提供關於其 DeFi 申報表的稅收分類的清晰度。

3. A corporate taxpayer will generally be neutral on the revenue vs capital treatment of DeFi returns.

企業納稅人通常對 DeFi 回報的收入與資本處理持中立態度。

Cons

缺點

4. Treating DeFi returns as miscellaneous income may prevent individual taxpayers from offsetting their tax liabilities on DeFi returns using allowances available for dividends and interest income. However, we acknowledge the challenges of characterising DeFi returns as interest, dividends, or royalties due to the complexities related to ascertaining source and determining withholding tax obligations given the decentralised nature of DeFi "lending" and "staking".

將 DeFi 申報表視為雜項收入可能會阻止個人納稅人使用可用於股息和利息收入的津貼抵消其在 DeFi 申報表上的納稅義務。然而，鑑於 DeFi"借貸"和"質押"的分散性，由於與確定來源和確定預扣稅義務相關的複雜性，我們承認將 DeFi 回報描述為利息、股息或特許權使用費的挑戰。

5. Under the proposed DeFi tax regime, non-trading individual taxpayers who might otherwise receive a capital DeFi return will not benefit from the currently lower CGT rate.

根據擬議的 DeFi 稅收制度，否則可能獲得 DeFi 資本回報的非交易個人納稅人將不會受益於目前較低的 CGT 稅率。

Possible solutions

可能的解決方案

6. The legislation could specify that DeFi returns are treated as miscellaneous income by default. However, if certain requirements are met, such returns could be treated as capital for individuals and deferred for all taxpayers until the end of the contract or a return otherwise arises. These requirements could align with the principles outlined in HMRC guidance in CRYPTO61214.

該立法可以規定，DeFi 回報默認被視為雜項收入。但是，如果滿足某些要求，則此類申報表可被視為個人的資本，並對所有納稅人遞延至合同結束或以其他方式產生申報表。這些要求可能與 CRYPTO61214 中的 HMRC 指南中概述的原則保持一致。

7. HMRC should consider introducing a separate allowance similar to the personal allowance regime for interest income. This approach would alleviate the administrative burden for users engaging in low-volume transactions, equalise tax incentives (via allowances) between DeFi returns, interest, and dividends, and demonstrate the UK government's commitment to maintaining its global position as a leading financial centre.

HMRC 應考慮引入類似於利息收入個人津貼制度的單獨津貼。這種方法將減輕參與小批量交易的用戶的行政負擔，在 DeFi 回報、利息和股息之間平衡稅收優惠（通過津貼），並表明英國政府致力於保持其作為領先金融中心的全球地位。

Question : Do you foresee any difficulties for users who engage in these and similar transactions to establish the value of the DeFi return? If so, please provide examples where this may be an issue.

問題：您是否預見到從事這些和類似交易的用戶在確定 DeFi 回報的價值方面會遇到任何困難？如果是，請舉例說明這可能是一個問題。

8. As a starting point, we expect that users will refer to HMRC published guidelines on valuing cryptoassets for UK tax purposes in CRYPTO23000. For reference, we set out the extract below:

作為起點，我們希望用戶參考 HMRC 發布的關於為英國稅務目的評估加密資產的指南 CRYPTO23000。作為參考，我們列出了以下摘錄：

Many cryptoassets (such as bitcoin) are traded on exchanges which do not use pound sterling, so the value of any gain or loss must be converted into pound sterling on the Self-Assessment tax return.

許多加密資產（如比特幣）在不使用英鎊的交易所進行交易，因此任何收益或損失的價值都必須在自我評估納稅申報表上轉換為英鎊。

If the transaction does not have a pound sterling value (for example, if bitcoin is exchanged for Ether) an appropriate exchange rate must be established in order to convert the transaction to pound sterling.

如果交易沒有英鎊價值（例如，如果比特幣兌換成以太幣），則必須建立適當的匯率才能將交易轉換為英鎊。

Reasonable care should be taken to arrive at an appropriate valuation for the transaction using a consistent methodology. Details of the valuation methodology should be kept.

應採取合理的謹慎措施，使用一致的方法對交易進行適當的估值。應保留估值方法的細節。

The taxpayer would then need to determine total assets received vs. deposited and determine which portion of assets returned is attributable to the reweighting of "staked" (LPed) assets and which of the tokens are attributable to the fees (the DeFi returns) earned.

納稅人需要確定收到的總資產與存入的總資產，並確定返回的資產的哪一部分歸因於"質押"（LPed）資產的重新加權，以及哪些代幣可歸因於所賺取的費用（DeFi 回報）。

9. The taxpayer would need to determine the fiat value of the assets at the time of deposit and the time of withdrawal. This will present difficulties and HMRC will need to clarify which sources of fiat-pricing data will be acceptable for taxpayers to use as they calculate their tax obligations.

納稅人需要在存款和取款時確定資產的法定價值。這將帶來困難，HMRC 將需要澄清納稅人在計算納稅義務時使用哪些法定定價數據來源。

10. For administrative ease and clarity, we recommend HMRC consider establishing a list of official exchange rates that users may refer to when valuing their cryptoassets.

為了便於管理，我們建議 HMRC 考慮建立一個官方匯率列表，用戶在評估其加密資產時可以參考。

Question : What impact do you expect the proposals in this document, if implemented, to have on administrative burdens and costs for users of DeFi?

問題：您預計本文件中的建議如果實施，會對 DeFi 用戶的行政負擔和成本產生什麼影響？

11. Overall, the proposals are a positive step towards alleviating administrative burdens and costs for users of DeFi and will promote compliance. Removing the CGT consequences on certain steps on the lifecycle of a typical DeFi transaction (e.g., the initial lending and staking of cryptoassets; and the withdrawal or return of the lent or staked tokens at the end of the term) reflects the underlying economic ownership of a liquidity provider.

總體而言，這些提案是減輕 DeFi 用戶管理負擔和成本的積極一步，並將促進合規性。消除 CGT 對典型 DeFi 交易生命周期中某些步驟的影響（例如，加密資產的初始借貸和質押;以及在期限結束時提取或歸還借出或質押的代幣）反映了流動性提供者的基本經濟所有權。

12. Assuming a DeFi transaction falls within the scope of the new DeFi tax rules, there are 3 "tax events" that a "lender" would be concerned with:

假設 DeFi 交易屬於新的 DeFi 稅收規則的範圍，那麼"貸款人"將關注 3 個"稅務事件"：

a. DeFi returns that are received during the term of the "lending" or "staking";

在"借貸"或"質押"期限內收到的 DeFi 回報;

b. When a "borrower" becomes insolvent as this could give rise to a taxable event as a result of lost "staked" or "lent" tokens; and

當"借款人"破產時，由於丟失"質押"或"借出"代幣，這可能會引起應稅事件;

c. If the "lender" sells their "rights" to the "lent" or "staked" tokens to another person.

如果"貸方"將其對"借出"或"質押"代幣的"權利"出售給另一個人。

13. Each of the above events occurs regularly. Without accurate and automated means through which transactions can be reviewed to show gains/losses or revenue earned in accordance with the proposed DeFi tax rules, the new rules remain a significant administrative burden for users.

上述每個事件都會定期發生。如果沒有準確和自動化的方法可以審查交易以顯示根據擬議的 DeFi 稅收規則獲得的收益/損失或收入，新規則仍然是用戶的重大管理負擔。