Switzerland Delays CARF Implementation Until at Least 2027

The move comes even as Switzerland prepares to enshrine CARF into law on Jan. 1 and adjusts its domestic reporting rules to ease future compliance. At the same time, Spain is moving in the opposite direction, with the Sumar alliance proposing sweeping tax reforms that would dramatically increase rates on crypto gains, classify all digital assets as seizable property, and introduce a “risk traffic light” system for investors. 

Switzerland Reassesses CARF

Switzerland is slowing down its rollout of global crypto transparency rules, and pushed back the implementation of the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) to 2027 while it reassesses which countries it is actually willing to exchange data with. The Swiss Federal Council and the State Secretariat for International Finance confirmed that although CARF will formally become part of Swiss law on Jan. 1 as originally planned, the rules will not be enforced until at least a year later. The delay stems from Switzerland’s decision to pause discussions on its list of partner states, leaving the timeline for automatic information sharing uncertain.

CARF was created by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and it is designed to create a global, standardised system for sharing crypto account data between governments. The goal is to clamp down on tax evasion and ensure crypto exchanges and service providers are subject to the same reporting expectations as traditional financial intermediaries. 

Press release from the Swiss Federal Council and State Secretariat for International Finance

Switzerland was one of 75 nations that agreed to implement CARF in a two-to-four-year window, but the latest move suggests the country is taking a more cautious approach to international data sharing.

The Swiss government’s announcement also revealed adjustments to domestic tax reporting rules for digital assets, including transitional measures to help local crypto companies meet CARF’s compliance requirements. These updates are intended to make the shift easier for businesses once Switzerland begins exchanging data.

Earlier this year, Switzerland indicated it planned to adopt CARF by January of 2026 and begin its first exchange of information in 2027. However, Wednesday’s update shows that even the 2027 timeline is now unclear, which adds some uncertainty for global regulators and crypto firms that were preparing for Swiss participation in the framework.

While most major economies are moving toward CARF alignment, several countries like Argentina, El Salvador, Vietnam and India have yet to sign on. Other jurisdictions are beginning to adapt their regulatory structures in anticipation of CARF’s global rollout. Brazil, for example, is considering a tax on international crypto transfers to bring its rules into line with the new standards. In the United States, the White House recently reviewed the IRS’s proposal to join CARF.

Jurisdictions implementing CARF (Source: OECD)

Spain’s Crypto Tax Overhaul Faces Opposition

Meanwhile, Spain’s left-wing Sumar alliance is pushing for sweeping changes to how cryptocurrencies are taxed and regulated in the country, and introduced amendments that would overhaul three major tax laws: the General Tax Law, the Income Tax Law and the Inheritance and Gift Tax Law. 

According to local reports, the proposal aims to redefine how crypto gains are categorized, shifting them from the current savings tax rate into the general income tax bracket. This change would raise the tax burden for individuals, lifting the top rate on crypto profits from 30% to as high as 47%, while establishing a flat 30% corporate tax rate for companies holding digital assets.

Sumar holds 26 seats in Spain’s 350-member Congress and serves as a junior partner in the governing coalition, It argues that these reforms are necessary to modernize tax policy amid growing crypto adoption. The proposal also calls for the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) to introduce a “risk traffic light” system for crypto assets, which will require platforms to visually label tokens based on their perceived risk level. This will be one of the most interventionist investor-protection tools in the European crypto market.

One of the most contentious elements is the plan to classify all cryptocurrencies as attachable assets that can be seized by the government. Critics argue this is fundamentally incompatible with how decentralized digital assets operate. 

Legal expert Cris Carrascosa said that even regulated custodians cannot hold certain tokens like Tether’s USDT under MiCA rules, making the idea effectively unenforceable. Others have been more blunt. Economist and tax adviser José Antonio Bravo Mateu described the reforms as “useless attacks against Bitcoin,” and warned that holders may simply choose to leave Spain if taxes and regulations become too burdensome. He added that Bitcoin held in self-custody cannot be seized in the same way as traditional financial assets.

Meanwhile, some tax officials suggested a very different approach. Inspectors Juan Faus and José María Gentil recently proposed creating a more favorable tax regime specifically for Bitcoin, allowing taxpayers to separate wallets and choose between FIFO or weighted-average methods, with adjustment rules to prevent tax manipulation.

Spain’s tax authority has been very aggressive in monitoring crypto activity. It issued 328,000 tax warning letters to crypto holders for the 2022 fiscal year, followed by 620,000 notices the next year.