India’s Union Budget 2022 introduces 30% tax on crypto, digital rupee CBDC by 2022-23
As the Union Budget 2022 is released in the Indian Parliament session, a speech by the country’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has declared that a central bank digital currency (CBDC) is slated for launch by 2022-23, proposed at boosting India’s economic growth.
Sitharaman has also highlighted the need for digital inclusion across the country’s numerous business verticals while she announced the fund allocation tabled in the Union Budget.
Speaking about the upcoming launch of a digital rupee, Sitharaman added that the introduction CBDCs would provide a “big boost” to the nation’s digital economy. She stated that there is a possibility of a “more efficient and cheaper currency management system” with the advent of digital currencies.
Discussing the digital version of the Indian rupee, Sitharaman has also proposed the imposition of a 30 per cent tax on digital assets, including blockchain and crypto, that extends to all transfers of virtual digital assets.
Her suggestions on the same include that any income from all transfers of any virtual digital asset should be taxed at the rate of 30 per cent, wherein no deductions with respect to any expenditure or allowance would be allowed while computing such incomes barring the cost of acquisition.
The Indian finance minister also outlined that any losses that would occur while conducting transactions of digital assets would not be used as compensation against any other income source. Investors would not be able to show losses or hacks of cryptocurrencies in order to offset taxation on profits.
For keeping track of crypto investments in the country, Sitharaman has further proposed the implementation of a tax deduction at source (TDS) of 1 per cent above a still-to-be-determined threshold.
The Indian media publication Lok Sabha has reported that a parliamentary research group has been organized intended for a crypto-focused training for February 2.
