Thailand imposes 15% tax on cryptocurrency gains, mining included
Thailand’s finance ministry is set to announce the final details of taxing income generated from cryptocurrency transactions after years of discussion about the virtual asset that yet remains in a grey area.
Quoted by Bangkok Post news outlet, anonymous source within the Finance Ministry said taxpayers who make profit from cryptocurrencies will be liable to a 15% withholding tax. The taxation will also apply to mining operations and income from various investment products.
In the meantime, crypto exchanges and other digital asset platforms that facilitate crypto transactions have been exempted from the capital gains tax.
Although no specific taxation standards for crypto assets have been put in place, but the finance ministry was reportedly considering re-classifying returns made on cryptocurrencies as a type of “taxable income.” For this purpose, Thai revenue authority is reportedly mulling modifying the Revenue Code No.19 under Section 40 of the Royal Decree.
The Southeast Asian nation has already taken steps toward the adoption of cryptocurrencies, rolling out regulations and guidelines to welcome the business and opportunities that blockchain brings. It has also issued improvement orders for Bitkub and other Thai cryptocurrency exchanges after users were blocked from trading during significant price spikes in 2021.
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Thailand take steps toward the adoption of cryptocurrencies
Last year, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has published a series of new regulations for crypto businesses, some of which were restrictions that have sparked public outrage. Most recently, it has proposed new guidelines that would govern custody of digital assets held by cryptocurrency operators.
The current rules already require crypto exchanges to share the information of users with regulators, whenever funds are transferred between firms, to curtain a growing number of illicit activities stemming under the guise of the global cryptocurrency industry.
Earlier in 2021, crypto fund managers and investment advisers were also required to apply for a licence to continue their businesses. As things stood before, money managers trading assets that fell outside the legal definition of securities, futures contracts or equivalent financial instruments were not subject to the SEC supervision. Investors in crypto funds managed by unregulated portfolio managers also did not enjoy the protection of investor compensation funds.
While crypto exchanges operated under the SEC radar, investors had little guidance on portfolio management business. Thailand now wants to increase oversight of cryptocurrencies and digital assets by tweaking asset management rules in the Thai crypto-related laws.
