In a notice sent on Friday, the Israeli tax office stated that it is looking into possible tax avoidance by two NFT developers. The website Holyrocknft.com is owned by the partnership of Avraham Cohen and Antony Polak, who both used it to sell their NFTs.
The two NFTs that were sold were produced using website-based 3D scans of the Western Wall rock but did not include appropriate tax information. The suspect has sold 1,700 works since 2021 and has been compensated with 620 ETH, which is equal to approximately NIS 8 million (or US$2,18 million) at the time of the transaction.
These data indicate that although the couple did not disclose these amounts as business revenue, they were in reality business income.
The revenue was legitimate company income, but the couple neglected to record it. According to the tax authority, the inquiry is still ongoing.
There may be suspicions of an illicit stockpile of assets given that some of the money received by the accused was even transferred between digital wallets.
The suspects were released by the court-appointed judge with a few restrictions, including turning over the electronic wallet where their ETH was housed.
Ben Benhorin, a graphic designer from Tel Aviv who specializes in producing and marketing NFT-style digital art, was previously detained by Israeli authorities on February 26 for failing to report his business and failing to report the conversion of 30 Ethereum, the digital currency he received as payment, totaling about 3 million NIS.