Tax Financial News

The Colombian government wants citizens to declare their crypto holdings – but industry figures claim this will just force crypto advocates and their coins onto overseas platforms.

As part of its probe into a potential value-added tax (VAT) fraud, UK tax authority Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HRMC) has confiscated three non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in what represents the first seizure of such assets by a British government institution.

A business leader has said that a soon-to-be-unveiled Russian draft crypto regulation bill – which proposes bringing crypto into a strict regulatory framework – is effectively a way to discourage Russians from using cryptoassets.

Amid ongoing talks on new crypto regulation, the Russian government reportedly estimates that, if the country introduces regulations for the crypto market and imposes a tax on transactions that involve cryptoassets, it could generate as much as RUB 1tn (USD 13.3bn) in revenue for the state budget.

The government of Kazakhstan has unveiled a package of measures aimed at further taxing the nation’s Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto mining sector. The measures will involve tax hikes on electricity, a crackdown on unregistered miners, a tax on mining hardware, and the introduction of VAT charges on mining-related equipment sales.

tax treatment of crypto transactions before April 1 to avoid any confusion and litigation. At present, divergent practices are followed in the treatment of crypto transactions, with some declaring income as capital gains, others as business income and some not disclosing it at all. If the income from transfer of cryptocurrency is treated as business income, then the tax rate is 30%, though with deduction of charges or expenses incurred. If the income is treated as capital gains, then long term gains (where it is held for more than 36 months) faces a rate of 20% and if held for less than 36 months (short-term gains) then tax as per slab rate is applicable.

tax virtual digital assets at 30% in the Union Budget has encouraged the crypto industry players to come out with financial products on the asset. Crypto exchange CoinSwitch on Monday launched a recurring buy plan (RBP) (RBP) — a systematic investment plan (SIP) to buy crypto assets in India. Users can sign up through a waitlist to get early access to explore this new feature, the company said. With this, the startup wants users to beat market volatility and avoid making impulsive buying or selling decisions. Ashish Singhal, founder and CEO of CoinSwitch, said that the plan is for people who take a more systematic and long-term approach to buying crypto assets and is not really meant as a product for traders. “We are still reading the Budget fine print. Our initial understanding is that the 1% TDS will usually impact frequent traders who operate on smaller margins,” he said.“The plan will allow long-term investors to invest systematically and avoid the impulse to time the market and make emotional trading decisions, and will also empower users with a lower risk profile to explore this new asset class,” he added. Tax experts TOI spoke to said that though the Budget is silent on products such as crypto RBPs, the taxation will likely be along the same lines as SIPs, which are taxed on withdrawal.

India became one of the few countries to tax digital assets like cryptocurrencies and NFTs (non-fungible tokens) when finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a 30% tax on transfer of such assets in the Budget. Though the FM said taxing an asset does not bring legitimacy, industry watchers said that clarity on tax policy is likely to be the first step towards regulation of crypto. Some industry players said that the high tax will dissuade investors, while others felt it will give confidence to serious investors. The Budget announcements mean that income from any transfer of crypto, even gifts, would attract a 30% tax. In addition, investors cannot get any deductions and won’t be allowed to set off losses from transfer of such assets against any other income. The government has sent a strong signal against speculation or trading by retail investors, according to analysts.Attract or dissuade investors?According to industry players, clarity on taxation will give new customers confidence to enter the crypto market. Darshan Bathija, CEO & co-founder of crypto exchange Vauld, said that the government’s move has addressed concerns around legality and that he expects more Indians to invest in crypto. Presented ByDid you Know?Sunny Leone too

Certain crypto and foreign currency transactions in Venezuela will be taxed at up to 20% after the government and parliament signed off on a rule aimed at reducing inflationary pressure on the troubled fiat bolivar.

“I earned over Rs 50,000 last year in crypto through grants and programmes but prefer to take my salary in US Dollars. Many Web3 companies offer to pay salary both in crypto tokens and dollars and many choose crypto tokens,” said 23-year-old Yash Pandey (name changed on request). “The coins that I earn help me to learn and experiment with building new things.”

Cryptocurrencies will now finally be taxed in India. In her Budget speech on February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the transfer of digital assets - and these includes cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens- will attract a 30 percent tax. Additionally, all transfers of such assets will attract 1 percent tax deducted at source (TDS). Even gifting such assets will attract the 30 percent tax.

Sidharth Sogani

In her Budget 2022 speech, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the transfer of virtual digital assets would attract a 30 percent tax. This, by all means, refers to cryptocurrencies, even though India’s Cryptocurrency Bill has not been tabled or discussed in Parliament. For those who have been investing in cryptocurrencies, this may have come as a breather because the general feeling is that at least it won’t be banned now.

Crypto regulation in India is still an ongoing debate, the country’s Finance Secretary T. V. Somanathan stressed, noting that, for now, cryptoassets are not illegal and are treated as gambling. 

In another turn of events involving India’s crypto policy, the country’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has proposed to tax gains from crypto transfers at a 30% rate, with no deductions to be allowed. Moreover, the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital rupee, is to be rolled out by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central bank, in the years 2022 to 2023, she said.

In Budget 2022, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave clarity on how digital assets will be taxed. This means that gains from cryptocurrencies will now be taxed. At present, there are no explicit provisions dealing with taxation of cryptocurrencies under the income-tax act, 1961, given that the Cryptocurrency Bill is pending a debate in the Parliament.

Romania and Latvia are among the latest European countries to launch analytical work on updating their respective regulations for the cryptoasset and blockchain industry. In Romania's case, this could potentially mean increasing national taxes on crypto-related operations and transactions. In Latvia, the government aims to intensify its anti-money laundering (AML) efforts. 

The United States tax body, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), says it believes the crypto and non-fungible token (NFT) space is beset with “fraud” – and has warned that celebrities promoting crypto on social media could face probes.

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The new year is off to a flying start for South Korea’s crypto community – who will likely have plenty to celebrate after March’s presidential elections.

The Chairman of the State Duma (the Russian parliament)’s Committee on Financial Markets Anatoly Aksakov has insisted that crypto users in the country should be unmasked – and that crypto anonymity should become a thing of the past.