Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal cleared up India’s confusing stance on cryptocurrency during his visit to Qatar on Monday. The government isn’t banning crypto, but they’re definitely not encouraging it either – instead, they’re using brutal taxation to discourage people from using it.
Goyal explained that India doesn’t support cryptocurrencies without sovereign backing or real asset backing from institutions like the central bank. He said the government worries people could get stuck holding worthless tokens with nobody accountable behind them.
Rather than ban crypto outright, India slapped a punishing 30% tax on all crypto gains, regardless of whether you made money elsewhere or took losses. On top of that, there’s a 1% tax deducted at source on every transaction above ₹10,000. You also can’t offset crypto losses against other income, making the tax situation even worse.
The real focus for India is launching its own digital rupee backed by the Reserve Bank of India. Goyal said this government-guaranteed digital currency will make transactions faster and easier than traditional banking while maintaining full traceability through blockchain technology.
His comments came during a two-day business trip to Doha where he’s working on strengthening trade ties between India and Qatar. The minister emphasized that protecting investors and maintaining financial stability are the government’s top priorities, which is why they’re pushing their own controlled digital currency instead of embracing decentralized crypto.
Conclusion
India’s Commerce Minister confirmed government discourages unbacked crypto through 30% taxation while developing RBI-backed digital rupee for faster, traceable transactions with government security.
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