Thai Finance Ministry abolishes VAT on cryptocurrency trading

The new tax policy could potentially provide the necessary impetus for further expansion of the digital asset market

07.02.2024 - 12:50

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3 min

What’s new? Thailand’s Ministry of Finance has suspended the requirement to pay a 7% value-added tax on profits derived from cryptocurrency trading. The VAT exemption period went into effect back on January 1, with no expiration date given for the new rules. The department’s press office said the initiative is aimed at encouraging the growth of the local digital asset industry.

Material by Bangkok Post

What else is known? The VAT exemption for cryptocurrency trading also applies to brokers and dealers regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As early as May 14 last year, the transfer of tokens to a third party was exempt from VAT.

Currently, the Ministry of Finance and the SEC are drafting amendments to the Securities and Exchange Act of 2019, which would include digital investment tokens in the securities category.

The new tax policy could potentially provide the necessary impetus to further expand the market for digital assets. However, the Ministry of Finance warned that in this environment, the government should pay special attention to ensuring the stability of the financial system.

In January, a joint venture between Binance and the fintech arm of power producer Gulf Energy launched a crypto exchange in Thailand. Earlier, it received licenses to work with cryptocurrencies and provide brokerage services from the Ministry of Finance. In October, Binance helped the Thai police confiscate $277 million from crypto scammers.

Thailand bans the use of customer crypto assets for lending and investment

Platforms should also warn users about the risks associated with digital assets

Earlier, the media reported that Indonesia’s tax policy caused crypto exchanges’ trading volume to drop by 60% in a year. Users pay income tax and VAT for each transaction, while exchanges contribute a percentage to the state industry organization.

In January, the Argentine government abolished tax requirements for cryptocurrencies, and the Spanish Treasury proposed to allow the confiscation of citizens’ crypto assets to pay off tax debts.

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