India won’t offer respite from steep crypto taxes

The Indian government won’t reduce taxes on cryptocurrency transactions, a minister said, despite repeated pleas by the industry.

See related article: India’s latest tax assault on crypto exchanges starts Friday

Fast facts

• In a written reply to a query in India’s upper house of Parliament, Minister of State for finance Pankaj Chaudhary clarified that the government is not considering any plans to reduce taxes on the nascent asset class, according to local media. 

• India introduced a 30% flat tax on all crypto income from April 1 and a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on transactions above 10,000 Indian rupees (US$125) from July 1. India also does not allow cryptocurrency traders to offset losses with gains made elsewhere. 

• Indian crypto exchanges have been seeking a reduction in taxes, citing the steep drop in trading volumes amid a global liquidity squeeze for the industry.  

• Responding to another query, Chaudhary pointed out that the Reserve Bank of India has started working on introducing its central bank digital currency (CBDC) in a phased manner, according to the media report. 

See related article: India to make life hell for crypto investors: MP

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