Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her budget speech on Tuesday that a 30% tax will be levied on income from all cryptocurrency or digital assets transfers.
Fast facts
- The levy on cryptocurrency will also apply to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and gifts, where the recipient will be taxed.
- In case of losses from crypto investments, no offsets will be allowed.
- Taxing crypto may signal that the government is moving towards regulation over an all-out ban.
- The 30% levy on crypto is double that of the 15% capital gains tax on short-term gains, which applies to appreciating assets like stocks and shares.
- In her speech, the minister also announced that long-term capital gains would remain unchanged at a 15% cap.
- The Finance Minister also announced in her speech that India’s central bank will be issuing its central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the financial year 2022-23.