Indian Finance Minister Ignores Crypto Industry’s Budget Tax Plea
Read Time:1 Minute, 52 Second
QUICK BITE
- India’s 2024-25 Union Budget disappoints crypto industry, making no mention of cryptocurrencies and maintaining current tax rates.
- Experts believe the government doesn’t view crypto as a legitimate industry in India yet.
The cryptocurrency and web3 community in India was enthusiastically looking forward to the 2024-25 Union Budget. Industry stakeholders had been hoping for some relaxation on cryptocurrency gains and other related aspects, creating a more favorable regulatory environment.
However, their expectations were met with disappointment as the Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s 2024 Union Budget speech on July 23 made no mention of cryptocurrencies, leaving the sector in a state of uncertainty.
Sumit Gupta, CEO of crypto exchange CoinDCX, stated that the crypto community will keep pushing for lower taxes. He also added:
“We have submitted data-backed quantitative analyses on the flight of capital and users overseas, and the potential increase in government revenue should the taxation structure be revised. We are hopeful that the government will consider our requests and that we will see changes in the future. However, he added that the abolition of the Angel tax for all classes of investors in the current budget would help bolster the Indian startup ecosystem.”
Sathvik Vishwanath, CEO of local exchange Unocoin, also commented on the same. He said that the government’s decision to maintain current tax levels indicates they don’t view crypto as a legitimate industry in India yet.
Introduced in Sitharaman’s 2022 Budget speech, India levies a flat 30% tax on crypto profits, regardless of an individual’s income tax bracket. Additionally, there’s a 1% Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) on transferring Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs).
Earlier this month, Bharat Web3 Association (BWA) asked the Union finance ministry to reduce the Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) on Virtual Digital Assets (VDA) transfers from the current 1% to 0.01 percent. BWA has also requested a review of the 30% flat tax rate on income from VDA transfers.
BWA also highlighted that the stringent taxation framework and lack of regulation have led to a flight of capital, causing a significant revenue loss for Indian VDAs and the government in recent years. Additionally, this has compelled Web3 startups and entrepreneurs to relocate to more VDA-friendly jurisdictions.
1
0
