Thailand imposes 15% capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies

TL;DR Breakdown

• Thailand finally passed a crypto regulation framework to see crypto stakeholders paying a 15% tax on capital gains.
• The country’s government aims to make cryptocurrencies a better trading option for its citizens following last year’s massive adoption rates.

Per reports, Thailand is now among few countries with a working crypto regulation framework. This government has urged its citizens to report crypto capital gains when making tax returns and ensure that they pay a 15% capital gains tax. It has also promised to improve the surveillance of these assets beginning this year to make trading experiences better.

Thailand asks citizens to report crypto gains when making tax returns

The finance ministry in Thailand now urges all citizens who trade cryptocurrencies to be reporting their crypto income when paying taxes. Yesterday, a local Post explained that all cryptos’ capital gains are subject to a 15% tax.

The newly imposed tax concerns everyone profiting from cryptocurrencies. This includes miners and investors. However, the tax does not touch the exchanges that offer crypto services.

The post also explained that crypto income is considered assessable income in section 40 of the Royal Decree that amends the Revenue Code 19. Regarding the exponential increase of crypto adoption in the country, Thailand plans to increase its oversight of these assets

Thailand’s ‘unclear’ regulatory framework attracts crypto stakeholders’ attention

Even though the country issued a framework for regulating these assets, one crypto stakeholder has noted it is unclear. The CEO and co-founder of Zipmex exchange, Akalarp Yimwilai, has pointed out that the government needs to explain how to calculate crypto gains. He particularly noted that there is no clarity whether price increase due to the strengthening of the US dollar should be considered lucrative.

According to him, tax calculation methodology and guidelines should be clear and precise for concerned parties to comply. He also added that Thailand citizens seem ready to pay these taxes, but the method of calculating the gains is troubling them.

Yimwilai added that his exchange, Zipmex, has been trying to develop a solution for its clients to calculate losses and gains. However, it is a difficult task for them. He pleaded that if the finance ministry already has such an advanced data system, it should share with other stakeholders like exchanges.

Thailand has had a spike in the rate of crypto adoption and mining in the past several months. As a result, the government plans to support these assets since its tourism ministry also believes cryptos can be a game-changer.

Last September, the authority incharge of tourism in Thailand revealed that they plan to support the country’s transformation to a crypto hub. Two months later, the Authority’s Governor remarked that the country should favor these assets. The officials of the Central Bank seconded the governor’s remarks in December 2021 after they announced that cryptos are not illegal.