Thailand asked to reconsider taxation rules for cryptocurrency

In Thailand, issuers of initial coin offerings (ICOs) and advocates of cryptocurrency exchanges have asked the Finance Ministry to delay or wave the application of capital gains tax on ICOs and cryptocurrency trading. In March, the government approved in principles the drafts of two royal decrees to regulate transactions related to digital assets and to allow tax authorities to impose levies on digital assets. Under such rules, digital asset trades will be subject to a 7% value-added tax in addition to a 15% withholding tax on capital gains and returns from investments in digital assets. This policy is seen by some as a matter of double taxation, and a possible obstacle for startups and other businesses interested in raising capital through cryptocurrency. Instead, the authorities are asked to consider a new tax policy that would support the cryptocurrency and ICO ecosystem at a national level.