Picture : Twitter / ANI
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said the government has sovereign right to tax profit made from cryptocurrency transactions, and the decision on banning or not banning will be taken based on feedback from consultations.
Replying to the general discussion on Union Budget, the minister said, “I am not going to legalise it or ban it at this stage. Banning or not banning will come subsequently, when consultations give me input”.
About the profit emanating from transactions in cryptocurrencies, she stated that “(Whether it is) legitimate or illegitimate, it is a different question, but I will tax because it is a sovereign right to tax”.
The minister was responding to the questions raised by Congress member Chhaya Verma on cryptocurrency. Verma had asked about the legitimacy of taxing cryptocurrency. In her Budget speech on February 1, Sitharaman had said that only RBI-issued ‘Digital Rupee’ will be recognised as currency, and the government will levy a 30 per cent tax on gains made from any other private digital assets from April 1.
The Budget 2022-23 has proposed a 1 per cent TDS on payments towards virtual currencies beyond Rs 10,000 in a year and taxation of such gifts in the hands of the recipient. The threshold limit for TDS would be Rs 50,000 a year for specified persons, which include individuals/HUFs who are required to get their accounts audited under the I-T Act.
No deduction in respect of any expenditure or allowance shall be allowed while computing income from transactions in such assets. It has also specified that losses from the transfer of virtual digital assets will not be allowed to be set off against any other income.
The finance Minister also stated that the government’s inflation management is robust and it has handled the price rise during the COVID-19 crisis in a much more efficient manner than the UPA government did during the 2008-09 global financial crisis.
The Rajya Sabha was on Friday adjourned to resume its second part of the Budget Session on March 14 after a recess of one month.
Deputy Speaker of Rajya Sabha Harivansh Narayan Singh adjourned the House after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed the House on Union Budget 2022-2023 and concluded the discussion on the issue.
Soon after the Finance Minister completed her address, the Deputy Speaker took some special mentions and then announced the adjournment of the first part of Budget Session, saying “the House stands adjourned till March 14”.
