Digital Assets Association pushes for crypto tax holiday
The Thai Digital Asset Association has submitted an offer to the Minister of Finance on ways to support and promote opportunities in the new financial industry and has suggested exemption from income tax on cryptocurrency trading for at least 3-5 years, Prinn Panitchpakdi, honorary adviser to the association, revealed.
When the digital asset business is strong, the government will be able to collect more corporate tax and value-added tax [VAT] from trading fees, and it may be possible to collect more than the tax on individual investors.
At the same time, there is also the issue of interpreting “NFTs” as a type of digital asset because there is every kind of tax involved, he said. For example, if it were defined as a commodity, there would be a 7 per cent VAT.
“I believe in the idea of ‘free tax, free crypto’, so exemption or postponement of crypto tax for five years or even using it as a deduction will be an opportunity for the digital assets business to grow,” Prinn said. This market is not yet mature enough for taxation. Investors may move away because the industry is global and investors can easily choose to trade with foreign exchanges, he warned.
The association said it supports the government’s adoption of blockchain to scrutinise the state budget, which would help reduce corruption. Blockchain systems also could be used for fundraising to enable startups and SMEs to be more flexible to raise funds from those who have excess capital, both Thai and foreign investors.
