India will impose a 30% tax on income related to cryptocurrency transactions. This was announced on Tuesday by Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during a speech on the topic of the budget for 2022.
"There has been a phenomenal increase in transactions of virtual digital assets. The scale and frequency of such transactions forced us to introduce a special tax regime—" she said. – Any income from the transfer of virtual digital assets will be taxed at a rate of 30%. No deductions other than the cost of acquiring assets."
In other words, losses that may arise due to the depreciation or loss of cryptocurrencies cannot be offset for tax cuts on other income items. If the cryptocurrency was donated, the tax will be withheld from its recipient, Sitharaman clarified.
The minister also announced that the authorities intend to launch the digital rupee in 2022-2023, naming approximate dates for the first time.
"The digital rupee will be issued using blockchain and other technologies. This will give a significant boost to our economy," she continued.
Taxation of cryptocurrencies has become a signal that the Indian authorities do not intend to ban them after discussing such a possibility for several years. The token of one of the largest Indian crypto exchanges WazirX (WRX) has risen in price by 50% against the background of today's announcement.