A while back, the finance minister of India announced that cryptocurrencies would be charged a 30% tax on all profits. There won’t be any deductions allowed, and a 1% TDS will also be implemented. Despite this, there have been many doubts regarding the new laws. And since the new financial year is just around the corner, the authorities have cleared a lot of them.
How will India tax crypto?
In the recent Lok Sabha meeting, the ministry of Finance answered a lot of questions regarding the topic. First comes the income through transfers. Pankaj Chaudhary from the ministry of Finance explained that they are adding Section 115BBH to the Income Tax Act 1961. This will make any income from the transfer of Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs) taxable. And as per the amount, it will be 30%.
No deduction or any expenditure will be allowed for deduction from the taxable amount. This means any transaction charges won’t be deducted from the profits.
Secondly, one of the main questions was for the mining industry. A Lok Sabha member asked if the cost of acquisitions of mining infrastructure and the mining costs (electricity bill) can be deducted. To this, Pankaj Chaudhary answered that none of the infrastructure or operation costs would be considered for deductions as per the crypto bill.
Finally, we have losses which have become the biggest problem for traders. The loss of one transaction cannot be offset against the profit of another. This means if a trader makes 2 trades in a day making $200 in one and losing $200 on the other, they will still have to pay 30% tax on $200, despite having made zero profits.
India is not for crypto entrepreneurs
No one says that don’t tax us, but any taxation laws should be reasonable. It doesn’t matter how powerful or educated are the people who made these laws; it’s not fair. Not allowing deductions is basically the government saying your losses are yours and your profits are ours. It is such negligence towards this industry that even Polygon left India. Reports also suggest that the authorities are planning to bring even GST to the crypto taxation laws. Let’s see how that works.
What are your thoughts on how the Indian government plans to tax crypto? And do you think the industry can flourish in such conditions? Let us know in the comments below. Also, if you found our content informative, do like and share it with your friends.
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