Australian Senator proposes landmark Digital Services Act
Australian Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg opened the Australia Blockchain Week conference with a bombshell legislative proposal that he hopes will lay the groundwork for a new Digital Asset ecosystem down under.
The proposed Digital Services Act (DSA) legislative package calls for reforms in crypto market licensing, custody, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), debanking, and taxes. Senator Bragg said in his address at the conference that he expects the legislation in the Act to “protect (crypto) consumers against malicious operators.”
Senator Bragg outlined the four main pillars that the DSA is guided by. He explained that the DSA would be technologically neutral, have broad and flexible principles, be regulated by a Minister rather than a bureaucratic agency, and use government resources and personnel. In his view, such guidance will help Australia show that the country is ready to take a greater role in the crypto industry.
The Senator also took on DAO’s, challenging various branches of the government to take them seriously. He went as far as calling them “an existential threat to the tax base” under current rules.
According to data published by the Parliament of Australia, the company tax accounts for the second-largest source of revenue for the government behind income tax, however, DAOs are not taxed as companies.
To that, Senator Bragg said that his country’s “reliance on company tax is unsustainable” if an increasing number of organizations become a DAO. As a result, the DSA would task the government with creating a framework for creating standards for DAOs without stifling their core principles.
The standards would essentially ensure consumers have access to audit, assurance, and disclosure services from
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