India's Rigorous Crypto Taxation Policies Result in a $420 Million Loss

Adekunle Joshua

India's Rigorous Crypto Taxation Policies Result in a $420 Million Loss

These hefty taxes forced over 5 million Indian crypto users to global platforms like Binance, resulting in a 95% drop in trading volumes for Indian exchanges overnight

From April 2022, Indians faced a hefty 30% tax on crypto income

In July 2022, the 1% TDS on cash-to-crypto transactions prompted 5 million users to shift trading activity abroad, resulting in a $420 million revenue loss for the government

Due to the 1% TDS tax, Indian exchanges lost over 97% of trading volumes overnight

The TDS amount collected was $30.1 million, but without the tax, the revenue could have been $420 million

The Esya Centre recommends reducing TDS to 0.01%, using Annual Information Report for tracing, clarifying rules for offshore exchanges, and registering all exchanges with the Indian Financial Intelligence Unit.