The new budget session of Parliament in India is particularly important given that this is allegedly when the country is going to make some hardcore decisions regarding the future of crypto within the nation’s borders. Regulators are seeking to initiate some new laws in which anti-tax evasion laws surrounding crypto will be set in stone.
India Is Looking to Prevent Tax Evasion Through Crypto
India has had a very up and down relationship with digital currency. Since 2018, it’s like the country can’t seem to get a grip on what it wants to do, and the people aren’t getting any breaks. Four years ago, the nation made headlines when it was decided by the Reserve Bank of India that no crypto or blockchain business could have access to traditional currency tools such as bank accounts. Things remained like this for about two years until the country’s Supreme Court decided that the law was unconstitutional, and the ban was quickly ended.
From there, it looked like India was on its way to becoming one of the world’s biggest crypto havens. Sadly, things didn’t quite turn out that way. It wasn’t long after the ban was rescinded that India said it was thinking about fully ending the reign of crypto within its borders for good. This meant no trading, no buying of digital assets, nothing. Anyone who got caught red-handed with crypto would either pay a fine or be forced to spend some time in jail.
However, while the country remained under threat, it seems now India is hellbent on recognizing crypto as a separate asset class. Rather than ban digital currencies, India is now looking to potentially regulate them, which means that traders may not have much to worry about after all. The only trouble now is getting the right rules in place, which India seems to be having trouble doing.
Things Are Taking a While
Initially, it was going to be discussed and decided upon during the winter session of 2021. However, Parliament failed to hold things up, and nothing got done on time. Now, however, it looks like things are being moved to the early portion of 2022, though the bill itself may not be introduced and discussed until after April 8. Nischal Shetty – CEO of Wazir X, one of the biggest and most popular digital currency exchanges in India – explained in an interview:
While the legal implementation still seems a while away, any initiative announced in the budget would at least open a direct line of conversation on crypto classification as an asset class, its taxation policies, and the blue-ocean opportunities available in this globally emerging segment.
Some analysts are worried that if crypto is not banned outright, the government could use the bill to tax all crypto holders to the max, which would make many traders want to give up their stashes.
Source: https://www.livebitcoinnews.com/india-seeks-introduction-of-anti-tax-evasion-crypto-laws/