During a live television broadcast of a parliament session, Sushil Kumar Modi, Indian MP stated that the government should raise taxes on cryptocurrency earnings to 50%.
He urged that the government should discourage what appears to be a growing interest in cryptocurrencies among the general public.
According to reports, the 70-year-old former Finance Minister of Bihar (an Indian state) stated that his proposal is motivated by the fact that cryptocurrencies are a type of gambling that should be prevented before wreaking havoc on the Indian people.
He also stated that he is following in the footsteps of countries like Japan, Germany, Austria, and others that have slapped 40-50 percent taxes on cryptocurrency.
Indian MP’s decision to kill the crypto industry
When questioned about GST (goods and services tax) on cryptocurrencies, the Indian MP replied that when it comes to dealing with cryptocurrencies, such as gambling transactions, he would prefer taxes to be levied on “the entire transaction.”
However, he concluded that this is up to the GST Council to decide.
“Are the terms ‘.com’ and ‘internet’ identical?” When asked if banning cryptocurrency will stifle creativity among India’s youth, Modi replied, “I don’t think so.”
He added to his conversation that the Indian government supports the Blockchain business and wants to use it for other purposes, such as health data, property records, and so on, but not for cryptocurrencies.
In the past, India has been known to be hostile to cryptocurrencies. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s central bank and regulatory agency prohibited the use of cryptocurrencies in 2018. A supreme court judgment in March 2020, however, overturned the restriction.
The Indian MP’s suggestion seems to be indeed a shock to Indian investors.
Between 2020 and 2021, this move witnessed a massive flood of individuals into the crypto industry, with WazirX, India’s largest exchange, seeing a user base gain of 1735 percent from 2020 to 2021.
Since then, the RBI has continued to oppose cryptocurrencies, with an official calling for a blanket ban on all digital assets two months ago, claiming a “danger to macroeconomic stability.” The RBI also recommended leaders not do business with crypto exchanges in May 2021.
Indian crypto tax of 30% on crypto gains and a 1% TDS came into effect on April 1.