The web3 community in India calls for changes in cryptocurrency tax regulations, especially the 1% TDS and 30% tax slab clauses, ahead of the Union Budget 2024 announcement. The community has used the hashtag ‘#ReduceCryptoTax’ on social media platforms to voice their demands.
As India’s Union Budget 2024 announcement approaches, the web3 community in India is urging changes in cryptocurrency tax regulations. Despite consistent appeals from the web3 community in the past two years, the Indian government has not revisited crypto-related tax laws.
Many in the sector argue that these laws hinder crypto growth in India and lead to a talent exodus to more crypto-friendly nations.
India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to reveal the budget provisions for the fiscal year 2025 on February 1. In preparation, the Indian crypto community has used the hashtag ‘#ReduceCryptoTax’ on social media platforms to express their demands and concerns.
Crypto Sector Demands Three Main Changes
Through social media, the crypto sector is expressing three main demands to the Indian government. These include advocating for more flexible tax slabs, reducing the Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) from 1% to 0.01% on each crypto transaction, and allowing the carrying forward of losses, similar to practices in the stock market.
The current tax regime imposes a 1% TDS on every crypto transaction, regardless of the amount or the profit or loss involved. This means that even if a user loses money on a crypto trade, they still have to pay 1% of the transaction value as tax. Moreover, the current tax slab for crypto income is 30%, which is higher than the tax slab for other sources of income, such as salary or capital gains.
Furthermore, the current tax regime does not allow users to carry forward their losses and set them off against future profits, which is a common practice in the stock market.
The crypto sector considers These tax laws unfair and unreasonable, as they discourage users from investing and trading in crypto assets and create a huge compliance burden for crypto exchanges and platforms.
Crypto Sector Expects Clear Legal Framework and Tax Regularization
According to a thread on X by Keyur Rohit, a crypto influencer and YouTuber, anticipated changes in India’s crypto law include the establishment of a clear legal framework and tax regularization. The sector also looks forward to an amended definition for Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs), emphasizing exclusions for tokenized assets with proven underlying value.
The crypto sector hopes that the government will recognize crypto assets as a legitimate and innovative asset class and provide a conducive environment for their growth and development. The sector also hopes that the government will adopt a rational and progressive approach to crypto taxation and align it with the global best practices.
Pushpendra Singh, Co-Founder of SmartViewAi in India, took to X and expressed how India’s crypto tax system is the “worst” globally. Attaching the trending hashtag of ‘ReduceCryptoTax,’ Singh noted that 1% TDS coupled with a 30% crypto tax slab, no loss set off, and no banking support positions the tax regime in India as the worst in the international arena.
Dr Sathvik Vishwanath, the CEO and Co-Founder of Unocoin, labeled the crypto tax regime in India as “unfair.” In a recent post on X, Vishwanath voiced a call for an amendment in crypto taxation laws in the country, citing several problems that come with the existing regulations.
The Unocoin CEO wrote,
“Unfair taxation is not only setting our #crypto industry behind but also increasing the time needed to fix deficiencies & compete with global landscape. Amending our taxation laws helps us reach heights sooner!”