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Budget 2023: Crypto startups hope for favourable policies
After the introduction of a 30 percent tax on crypto gains in the FY23 Budget, trading volumes on domestic exchanges decreased by up to 90 percent
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Crypto startups in India are hoping for favourable policies from the government in the upcoming Union Budget 2023-24. They are calling for a clear regulatory framework for domestic crypto exchanges, more information on the Crypto Bill, lower taxes on crypto, and a supportive environment for blockchain and Web3 companies.
Additionally, they hope that the government will allow crypto investors to offset and carry forward losses to create a fair playing field for virtual digital assets in India and raise the TDS exemption limit to a "reasonable level".
Tarusha Mittal, co-founder and COO of UniFarm and Dapps, states that the Bharat Web3 Association (BWA) has recommended Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to consider the impact of current tax provisions such as TDS, tax on income from virtual digital assets and not allowing losses to be carried forward on the wider industry.
They have also shared their input on necessary amendments that can address the government's concerns while also allowing the growth of the Web3 sector. He further emphasised the need for strong regulations for the sector in light of the recent FTX crisis, which eroded billions of dollars of investors' money, particularly for centralised entities dealing with crypto.
The crypto industry believes that Web3, crypto assets, NFTs, and the Metaverse need a specific bill to address regulatory matters, despite the fact that taxes were previously addressed in previous Budgets.
The crypto industry in India estimates that there are currently around 15 million crypto investors in the country. India is also home to 11 percent of the global Web3 talent, with over 75,000 blockchain professionals, as reported by NASSCOM.
However, after the introduction of a 30 percent tax on crypto gains in the FY23 Budget, trading volumes on domestic exchanges decreased by up to 90 percent. Additionally, many transactions moved offshore, making it harder to track.
Shivam Thakral, CEO of BuyUcoin, said that they are pleased to see the Finance Minister actively working towards a global policy on crypto, but Indian crypto entrepreneurs are eager for a swift implementation of regulations for crypto exchanges.
Thakral believes that such actions will promote responsible usage of digital assets and advance India into the next phase of the Web3 economy.
The writer is the founder at yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist. Twitter: @bhardwajshash
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