Indian Parliament Member Insists Crypto Is Like Gambling – In an interview with Forkast published Tuesday, Indian parliament member Sushil Kumar Modi discussed his thoughts on cryptocurrencies. Modi is a member of the Rajya Sabha, India’s parliament’s upper house.
He recently made headlines after he urged the Indian government to tax crypto revenue at a rate of more than 30% before the Rajya Sabha passes the Finance Bill 2022. According to the publication, the Indian government should tax crypto income at a rate of up to 50%.
Modi elaborated:
“The authorities have not said explicitly that cryptocurrency is similar to gambling. It’s like a lottery, a casino, or horse racing, and all of these enterprises have extremely high tax rates.”
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Apart from proposing a 50% tax on crypto revenue, Modi also proposed a 28% goods and services tax on the full crypto transaction value, rather than the current 18% GST on the service offered by crypto exchanges. “GST should be on the entire transaction value,” he said, citing gambling, horse racing, casinos, and lotteries as examples.
The parliamentarian then made a comparison between cryptocurrency and traditional investments. He pointed out that while equities have corporations behind them, “nobody knows who is behind these cryptos.”
The congressman highlighted that “we need to discourage and actively prevent” trading and investment in the asset class.
He said that the Indian government is working on cryptocurrency legislation and would have to decide if cryptocurrency is a commodity, an asset, a good, a stock, or a service in the near future.
The Indian government should address crypto legislation with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and according to the parliament member, adding:
“India’s government should take its time and issue a consultation document”.
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While confirming that crypto assets can be controlled, Modi ruled out the prospect of India adopting bitcoin as legal tender. He went on to say:
“One thing is certain: unlike El Salvador or Ukraine, India’s government will not legalize (crypto). It will not be treated as fiat cash or legal tender.”
“We trust that these cryptos are damaging to the financial stability of any country.” These tenders are only legalized in countries with insecure budgets, he believes.
