Key Takeaways
- The Royal Thai Government Gazette has approved a VAT exemption for cryptocurrency transfers that will continue until the end of 2023.
- The cabinet authorized an exemption from VAT for transferring cryptocurrency or digital tokens in March. The judgement was just passed into Thai law and will remain in effect until December 31, 2023.
- Thailand’s Finance Minister, Arkom Termpittayapaisit, is certain that the country’s cryptocurrency exchange would become more dependable and stable as tax restrictions are relaxed.
The Thai government is planning to exclude the transfer of cryptocurrencies or digital tokens from value-added tax (VAT) until the end of 2023.
According to the Royal Decree, The exchange of cryptocurrencies or digital tokens at digital asset exchanges under the rules has been exempted from VAT collection, issued on the Royal Gazette website on Tuesday. In addition, VAT has been abolished from the transfer of BOT’s digital money for public usage.
The policy adopted by the government in March, applies to trading platforms that are licensed with the Ministry of Finance. The ruling has now become Thai law, as it goes into force the day it is published in the official journal.
The cabinet agreed in March to exempt digital asset transactions from taxation and this privilege is now extended to digital asset transfers. Both exemptions are valid until 2023.
The major goal of the tax exemption is to promote cryptocurrency trading on recognised exchanges, permitting crypto transactions to be regulated and supervised by appropriate authorities such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
According to Akaradet Diawpanich, CEO of Cryptomind Group Holdings,
The waiver may be targeted at boosting the usage of Central Bank Digital Currency in the future, but it will have little to no impact on digital asset investment.
Investors would prefer a capital gains tax exemption on cryptocurrency trading, he said, because the tax is the key element driving up the cost of investing in digital assets.
Arkom Termpittayapaisit, Thailand’s Finance Minister, believes that when tax regulations are relaxed, the country’s cryptocurrency exchange would become more dependable and stable. He’s also stated:
“This would encourage Thailand to develop infrastructure and payment systems that are suitable for the digital economy of the future.”
The reduced restrictions, according to Ekniti Nititthanprapas, Director-General of the Revenue Department, will make buying and selling digital assets in the country more convenient. Thailand’s “positive image” in the global digital economy would improve, and investors would benefit from a fair tax payment and reliable transaction.
Investors are concerned that inflationary pressures and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy strengthening will limit global economic growth, according to Mr Akaradet, who stated that investments in all types of risky assets, such as equities, bonds, and cryptocurrencies, have remained stagnant.
He claims that interest rate increases and quantitative restriction, or balance sheet shrinkage, are rapidly depleting liquidity in the global investment market.
Another royal order issued on May 24 exempts transfers made using Thailand’s monetary authority’s retail central bank digital currency from VAT (CBDC).
The Bank of Thailand announced in December that it expects to begin testing the CBDC as an alternative payment option in financial institution-to-customer transactions in late 2022. The financial institution’s retail CBDC project will commence pilot testing eventually this year.
Thailand has made extraordinary social and economic improvement over the last four decades, shifting from a low-income to an upper-middle-income country in less than a generation. It’s incredible to see a constitutional monarchy openly embrace cryptocurrency.
