India's confusing crypto bill

[kentrolla]

So if not legal yet, using cryptocurrency will consider a crime? It's like some countries have been taxing alcohol drinks but it's illegal I'm their country. India making drama form while. They just make things more complicated and encourage people to use cryptocurrency in the black market. Officially announced about Tax, but not yet finalized whether it's legal or illegal. It's just a ridiculous statement to me, not only confusing.

Yes i believe that they are trying to supress crypto users into giving up crypto but at the same time taxing them as well, I think either they are rushing up things or having some other plans as the Indian based centralized exchanges will be the worst one to be affected and users will stop using them and move on to decentralised exchanges and also some traders who already hold huge amount will just shift their base or start using proxy from a crypto friendly nations for cashing out and other activities.

IMO there could be two possibilities after researching a lot about India.

1. Particular businesmen associated with government would like to dominate the crypto market and they are too late wherein other exchanges like Wazirx, Coinswitch and Coindcx are well established and this draconian rule is to make them go bankrupt and then the businessmen associated with government of India who will find them in elections will be starting their own crypto exchanges with relaxed rules from government.

2. Indian government don't understand crypto and making a huge mistake and run by fools.

[fullhdpixel]

Recently India has passed a crypto bill to tax crypto income by 30% but at the same time claiming that taxing cryptos doesn't make them legal and states it's country's sovereign right to tax crypto and this atrocity doesn't stop here as they have mentioned that the decision about banning crypto or legalizing it will taken after further consultation.

Can they tax something which is not legal? How can a country tax something which is not legal? Moreover they still have plans of banning crypto since they are not clear about their stands on legalization. Not sure if it's an attempt to unofficially break the crypto market in India or what's going on.

Plan on banning what ? they already said that crypto is not legalized on their country, that is indeed confusing or maybe what they mean by not legalizing is like not adopting btc like what El Salvador did where they adopt btc as a legal tender or as a form of currency.

What India did there is same to what most countries are doing where they also accept crypto but not totally. taxing on cryptos do also happens on other countries but I think their tax rates are not high as on India. 30 percent on tax is not a joke, what did their government eat when they are planning this ? or are they simply greedy and wants more from the crypto users .

[virasog]

What are we expecting in Indian Government ? they are acting like this for how many years?

having issue of banning and regulating and then allowing ? this is not new from this country so better to get use to it until they finally act a truthful and real law or bills in which people will understand and accept.

I don't see they are serious in adopting bitcoin. If that was the case, they would have lowered the taxes to encourage people to use crypto. Instead, they hinted that they won't let anyone earn crypto as they will be taxed very high.
This statement was a big disappointment to the people of India who wanted to integrate bitcoin and also earn bitcoin by different means like mining etc.

[savetheFORUM]

What are we expecting in Indian Government ? they are acting like this for how many years?

having issue of banning and regulating and then allowing ? this is not new from this country so better to get use to it until they finally act a truthful and real law or bills in which people will understand and accept.

I don't see they are serious in adopting bitcoin. If that was the case, they would have lowered the taxes to encourage people to use crypto. Instead, they hinted that they won't let anyone earn crypto as they will be taxed very high.
This statement was a big disappointment to the people of India who wanted to integrate bitcoin and also earn bitcoin by different means like mining etc.

That’s quite bad, the first time when I saw news about the tax that they have set out for Bitcoin, I was pointing out that the tax was too much and it’s going to discourage some people from investing or involving themselves in anything that has to do with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. If they are going to end up banning Bitcoin in their country, then what’s the need of setting up a tax for it?

It is of no use at all as they wouldn’t be able to tax something that is not legal in their country. So, how do they plan on taxing Bitcoin if they have stopped their citizens from making use of it?  it’s not going to work.

[dupee419]

What are we expecting in Indian Government ? they are acting like this for how many years?

having issue of banning and regulating and then allowing ? this is not new from this country so better to get use to it until they finally act a truthful and real law or bills in which people will understand and accept.

I don't see they are serious in adopting bitcoin. If that was the case, they would have lowered the taxes to encourage people to use crypto. Instead, they hinted that they won't let anyone earn crypto as they will be taxed very high.
This statement was a big disappointment to the people of India who wanted to integrate bitcoin and also earn bitcoin by different means like mining etc.

They aren't serious about it, knowing the past issues and corruption in the Indian Government, their officials have been taxing cryptocurrency for a while and the fact that they haven't even legalized it is disrespectful, we can't expect much from them. And I do feel bad as well for the people in India who've been looking forward for Bitcoin and crypto to be legalized with low tax fees, instead, the government took advantage and it really is sad.

[bitterguy28]

India has a full of drama , for my years here in crypto ? there are tons of crypto related issues that had been tackled and many are from India, legalization and Banning and now here we are confusing bill?
no wonder what would be coming in the next?
what kind of news are we looking for this?

What are we expecting in Indian Government ? they are acting like this for how many years?

having issue of banning and regulating and then allowing ? this is not new from this country so better to get use to it until they finally act a truthful and real law or bills in which people will understand and accept.

I don't see they are serious in adopting bitcoin. If that was the case, they would have lowered the taxes to encourage people to use crypto. Instead, they hinted that they won't let anyone earn crypto as they will be taxed very high.
This statement was a big disappointment to the people of India who wanted to integrate bitcoin and also earn bitcoin by different means like mining etc.

They will never at least not this year or in the next 5 years because all they have for crypto is problem and issues .

[Odusko]

Recently India has passed a crypto bill to tax crypto income by 30% but at the same time claiming that taxing cryptos doesn't make them legal and states it's country's sovereign right to tax crypto and this atrocity doesn't stop here as they have mentioned that the decision about banning crypto or legalizing it will taken after further consultation.

Can they tax something which is not legal? How can a country tax something which is not legal? Moreover they still have plans of banning crypto since they are not clear about their stands on legalization. Not sure if it's an attempt to unofficially break the crypto market in India or what's going on.

Share your thoughts on this.

Source: https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/taxing-cryptocurrencies-does-not-give-them-legal-status-clarifies-indias-finance-minister/articleshow/89500097.cms

Yes, they have always been taxing what is not legal. Gambling they tax heavily and gambling is not legal within the territory of India but yet from the very start gambling income is taxed heavily in the country. Even though I don't agree with this sort of draconian law on crypto but still 30% tax is still bearable. What is not at all bearable is the hefty 1% TDS that will be levied on sale proceeds every time you will make a sale. This doesn't make any sense and is irrational and is a deliberate technique to stop crypto trading in India. What I see from here is that they might in the coming months ban the foreign exchanges altogether and then eventually ban cryptos. They think this way they might get rid of it in phased manner.

I agree with you Teosanru , I think India government is trying to ban crypto trading by imposing tax on it.

[dezoel]

The news that I used to get on where India actually stands in crypto currency has always been confusing to me. Sometimes you will see news that it is legal in India, and within the next few days you will see another news saying that it is no longer legal.

Okay I remember a time when it was said that Bitcoin was finally declared a legal asset in India, and then within a few days I was also seeing the news again that it has been cancelled and is no longer legal. And then all of a sudden after seeing that they now charge tax for cryptocurrency investment which is up to 30%, now I’m seeing another news that they are saying it is not legal, what is really wrong with this government? Where do they stand actually?

There is no way that they can be collecting tax when something is not legal in their country. So, they are just really confused. Unless maybe the media are the ones who are not getting it, maybe fake news?

[pinggoki]

That's the nature of most bills or laws, they're confusing that you have to read the fine print so as to find a way to get away with it or to eben understand it. I wouldn't worry about this bill though, pretty sure that the people and the lawmakers will eventually forget about it and pretty sure that India will change it's stance when it comes to this kind of thing.

[AakZaki]

Accepting crypto is not fully or the regulations used are only limited to commodity trading and should not be used as legal tender. However, the tax rate is indeed unreasonable, too high. 30% is a crazy tax. Just imagine the profits that crypto gets are not much, but the taxes that are required will make anyone against it. The Indian government wants to make big profits from taxes on crypto users. it looks very greedy.

[isaac_clarke22]

~

If I can recall correctly, India even had a proposal long time ago about banning the usage of it and I am not sure what happened truly after that since I don't live in that country. Sure they can tax it now, though I am curious how would they do that to those people that are doing p2p transactions though.

[willoweb]

I think this is how the government is probing this market. It is far from certain that everything will remain as it is now. It is possible that the conditions will be partially relaxed in favor of cryptocurrency miners and a more “gentle” tax regime may be introduced. Obviously, we have already observed this more than once - when conditions for holders and earners become unbearable or at least unacceptable - they simply migrate along with all their "economy" to more favorable places. This is what is today.

[e_abrams]

India's stance on cryptos has always been confusing to me. They have been swinging between banning, legalizing and taxing cryptocurrencies for years now. Trying to follow their plans has been frustrating, to say the least.

[abdulqavi]

I wonder what the government is planning to do with Crypto.

Recently they introduced taxes on incomes made with Crypto, but now a Reserve bank of India deputy governor calls for an outright crypto ban.

https://www.livemint.com/market/cryptocurrency/banning-crypto-the-most-advisable-choice-open-to-india-rbi-deputy-governor-11644851315064.html

[TheNineClub]

Recently India has passed a crypto bill to tax crypto income by 30% but at the same time claiming that taxing cryptos doesn't make them legal and states it's country's sovereign right to tax crypto and this atrocity doesn't stop here as they have mentioned that the decision about banning crypto or legalizing it will taken after further consultation.

Can they tax something which is not legal? How can a country tax something which is not legal? Moreover they still have plans of banning crypto since they are not clear about their stands on legalization. Not sure if it's an attempt to unofficially break the crypto market in India or what's going on.

Share your thoughts on this.

Source: https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/taxing-cryptocurrencies-does-not-give-them-legal-status-clarifies-indias-finance-minister/articleshow/89500097.cms

Seems that in India everything is possible. So basically you won't be stopped from doing illegal things, you will only be taxed for them. But I wonder if that actually turns the tide in favor of crypto when the government sees that they could be getting some additional funds from the taxation. It might not seem much, but then again, India has a lot of people, so that could add up to quite a sum. But then again, governments around the world are constantly shifting their opinions on crypto, so who knows how this will turn out.

[stompix]

India's confusing crypto bill

Oh, what a surprise!, this is what I was going to say till I read the arguments.
To be honest, despite India's government and bank acting as we all know in the last years the bill is not confusing at all.

Let me clear that for you! The Finance Minister said that taxing crypto doesn't mean that it will become legal. She meant, taxing crypto will not make it a legal tender, i.e, cryptos can't be used against products and services. Otherwise, how can several crypto exchanges are working in the country? Most of them are above 1 billion USD valuation.

Exactly, I don't understand why poeple are so confused about this.
It simply means that cryptos will not be a legal payment method, which would force everybody from the administration and from the private sector to take payment in bitcoin. It simply doesn't recognize this as a legal payment method but that doesn't mean you're not allowed to use it if you want that.
Goats are not legal payments in Europe but it's not against the law to sell somebody 10 goats for a bicycle.

India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman clarified in Parliament that taxing cryptocurrencies does not give them any kind of legal status.

You pay taxes from your profits from rice farming in India, right? Does rice have legal status? 
Is rice legal tender, no! Is rice outlawed? No again!
Where is the confusion?

Oh, and btw from an article quoted:

There are about 15 million to 20 million cryptocurrency investors in India, with total holdings of about ₹400 billion, as per industry estimates.

There goes the myth of India's 100 million users and trillions in crypto invested.

[Findingnemo]

Recently India has passed a crypto bill to tax crypto income by 30% but at the same time claiming that taxing cryptos doesn't make them legal and states it's country's sovereign right to tax crypto and this atrocity doesn't stop here as they have mentioned that the decision about banning crypto or legalizing it will taken after further consultation.

Can they tax something which is not legal? How can a country tax something which is not legal? Moreover they still have plans of banning crypto since they are not clear about their stands on legalization. Not sure if it's an attempt to unofficially break the crypto market in India or what's going on.

Share your thoughts on this.

Source: https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/taxing-cryptocurrencies-does-not-give-them-legal-status-clarifies-indias-finance-minister/articleshow/89500097.cms

Yes they can charge taxes even though they are yet to declare the legal status of an asset.

But AFAIK, they mentioned that they didn't recognise cryptocurrencies as legal tender which doesn't mean it's not legal there but they are about to launch their own CBDC and probably after that they can declare the legality status of Bitcoin and other decentralized cryptocurrencies.

[adzino]

Recently India has passed a crypto bill to tax crypto income by 30% but at the same time claiming that taxing cryptos doesn't make them legal and states it's country's sovereign right to tax crypto and this atrocity doesn't stop here as they have mentioned that the decision about banning crypto or legalizing it will taken after further consultation.

Can they tax something which is not legal? How can a country tax something which is not legal? Moreover they still have plans of banning crypto since they are not clear about their stands on legalization. Not sure if it's an attempt to unofficially break the crypto market in India or what's going on.

Share your thoughts on this.

Source: https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/taxing-cryptocurrencies-does-not-give-them-legal-status-clarifies-indias-finance-minister/articleshow/89500097.cms

Wait, didn't they say that they won't ban bitcoin anymore and will instead tax it? And now they are once again talking about banning? What is this country actually up to? It's funny to see how they still can't decide what they want to do with crypto currencies. As if taxing their citizen 30% wasn't enough for them.
I guess by "legal" they meant that taxing doesn't mean that they are now considered as a legal tender. This means you are free to trade, use or accept bitcoin but it is not mandatory for someone to accept it as a mode of payment. I mean when you pay with bitcoin, the merchants can deny this form of payment (since it isn't a legal tender) and ask for fiat money.

[Fatunad]

India's stance on cryptos has always been confusing to me. They have been swinging between banning, legalizing and taxing cryptocurrencies for years now. Trying to follow their plans has been frustrating, to say the least.

If you are really that a kind of investor who do always look after fundamentals then these kind of decisions do really look confusing and at the same time it would really be that
annoying on which decisions do revert back and forth which you would really be having that kind of reaction which could also goes back and forth.
They are the ones who do make out their decisions it might be still un sure but i wont be surprised that it would be changing later on again.

[MMA]

Recently India has passed a crypto bill to tax crypto income by 30% but at the same time claiming that taxing cryptos doesn't make them legal and states it's country's sovereign right to tax crypto and this atrocity doesn't stop here as they have mentioned that the decision about banning crypto or legalizing it will taken after further consultation.

Can they tax something which is not legal? How can a country tax something which is not legal? Moreover they still have plans of banning crypto since they are not clear about their stands on legalization. Not sure if it's an attempt to unofficially break the crypto market in India or what's going on.

Share your thoughts on this.

Source: https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/taxing-cryptocurrencies-does-not-give-them-legal-status-clarifies-indias-finance-minister/articleshow/89500097.cms

Wait, didn't they say that they won't ban bitcoin anymore and will instead tax it? And now they are once again talking about banning? What is this country actually up to? It's funny to see how they still can't decide what they want to do with crypto currencies. As if taxing their citizen 30% wasn't enough for them.
I guess by "legal" they meant that taxing doesn't mean that they are now considered as a legal tender. This means you are free to trade, use or accept bitcoin but it is not mandatory for someone to accept it as a mode of payment. I mean when you pay with bitcoin, the merchants can deny this form of payment (since it isn't a legal tender) and ask for fiat money.

yes onece they changed their decision about bitcoin to ban but to taxi it. even tax percentage is too high but still people were hopping at least it will become legal there, but the latest news again make some confusion. but everyone know and sure  about it that not only India but every other country will make bitcoin legal in future.