MP Says 1% TDS Will Kill Crypto Asset Class in India

Lok Sabha, the lower house of India's parliament, on Friday passed the Finance Bill 2022, which includes a proposal to tax crypto income at 30% and impose a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on every cryptocurrency transaction. The 1% TDS will go into effect on July 1st and the 30% income tax will start to be levied on April 1st.

Member of Parliament Ritesh PANDEY raised concerns about the 1% TDS for crypto transactions. In Lok Sabha, he explained how this tax will kill the crypto industry. For example, he said that if a user buys crypto, then transfers the coins to a wallet and uses them to buy a non-fungible token (NFT), the user will be charged 1% TDS at each stage.

However, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala SITHARAMAN argues that the 1% TDS for cryptocurrency is for transaction tracking and this is nothing new. However, many in the crypto community in India agree with MP Pandey on the negative impacts of the 1% TDS on cryptocurrencies.

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