Here’s why India held on to older crypto reforms in national budget 2023
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Loading... - Kabir Laghari
- 01 Feb 2023
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Experts opine that the Indian government needs more data and time to decide on rigid tax policies, given it has been only ten months since the tax laws were introduced in March 2022.
Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology found no mention in India’s union budget for the year 2023, bringing down the hopes of millions of crypto holders in the country. Many in the Indian crypto community were hoping for some reduction to the high crypto tax, implemented in March 2022.
Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the union budget on Feb. 1, announcing key changes to the income tax slabs. However, during the session, the minister didn’t mention crypto, central bank digital currency, or blockchain tech. Last year, India levied a 30% tax on crypto profits and a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on all crypto transactions, derailing a thriving industry almost immediately.
The primary motive for introducing a TDS on all crypto transactions was to determine the total number of Indian citizens actively using cryptocurrencies. This data will be made available to the government as Indians file income tax returns from May 2023.
Trading volume on major cryptocurrency exchanges across India dropped by 70% within 10 days of the new tax policy and almost 90% in the next three months. The rigid tax policy drove crypto traders to offshore exchanges and forced budding crypto projects to move outside India. Read More…
