Thai Government Accelerates Tax Withholding Plans From Crypto Merchants And Miners

JAKARTA – Recently, the Thai government accelerated the regulation of crypto taxes from traders and miners of blockchain-based digital assets. The effort is aimed at providing clarity on cryptocurrency-related activities there.

Reporting from Cointelegraph, the Director General of Thailand's Department of Revenue revealed that clear criteria for calculating the tax on profits from crypto trading will be finalized in January.

The statement comes less than a week after the Thai government announced plans to levy a 15 percent tax on profits made by cryptocurrency traders and miners.

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed the Revenue Department to brainstorm on this issue and provide clarification for investors and the public as reported by Bangkok Post, 11 January 2022.

The Department of Revenue has discussed this with the local regulator, namely the Bank of Thailand. Discussions were also carried out with the Stock and Securities Commission (SEC) of Thailand and the Thai Stock Exchange.

Previously, on Sunday 9 January 2022, the Thai Digital Asset Association contacted the Revenue Department to seek clarity regarding capital gains and tax collection.

On January 9, the Digital Asset Association of Thailand contacted the revenue department seeking clarity on capital gains and tax cuts according to local media.

“Most of the cryptocurrency investors are ready to pay taxes but are worried whether their move will violate the Revenue Code,” said Suppakrit Boonsat, president of the Thai Digital Asset Association.

Digital asset traders are worried that the taxes and fines that the government is discussing will be applied to profits and trades made in previous years.

Responding to this, a government spokesman stated that he had no intention of hindering innovation and development in any industry, including fintech. The government only warns to be careful in supporting crypto trading because it can pose financial risks.

“If we rush to support [crypto trading] without a thorough understanding, there could be a crypto crisis, similar to a financial crisis,” the government spokesman said.

The new tax rules will only apply to any profits made from crypto traders and miners. In this case not from a digital asset exchange. Those who fail to meet the new filing requirements will be penalized. This decision follows after Thailand's central bank warned a number of commercial and business banks to accept digital assets as a form of payment.

Previously, the Bank of Thailand announced its plans to regulate crypto activities carried out by individuals and companies. This was conveyed by the Thai central bank in December 2021.

On the other hand, efforts to tighten crypto activities in the business environment are against the Thai Ministry of Tourism who is trying to attract whales and the global crypto community to the country to revive the tourism sector which has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.