Thailand Approves Tax Relief Measures for Crypto Trading

The Thai Cabinet has approved tax relief measures for crypto trading. The new tax rules are “much more friendly to both investors and industry,” said an executive of a cryptocurrency exchange in Thailand.

Thailand Adopts New Tax Rules for Crypto Investments

Thailand’s Cabinet approved new tax relief rules Tuesday for crypto trading, according to an announcement on the Thai government website.

Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith and Deputy Minister of Finance Santi Prompat jointly disclosed the outcome of the meeting, confirming that the cabinet has approved the crypto tax relief measures.

The finance minister told a news conference that traders will be able to offset annual losses against gains for taxes due on crypto investments. Value-added tax (VAT) of 7% will also be exempt for transfers of cryptocurrencies or digital tokens on regulated crypto exchanges.

He added that the tax exemption, effective from April 2022 to December 2023, will also cover the trading of retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) to be issued by the Thai central bank, the Bank of Thailand.

Last month, the Thai Revenue Department published a manual outlining the new tax rules applicable to cryptocurrencies and digital tokens. The new tax rules are “much more friendly to both investors and industry,” said an executive of a cryptocurrency exchange in Thailand.

Previously, Thailand wanted to impose a 15% withholding tax on cryptocurrency transactions. The plan was scrapped after pushback by the industry.

Cryptocurrency trading has grown significantly over the past year in the country. A finance ministry official said in January that the number of crypto trading accounts in Thailand grew to about two million at the end of 2021 from 170,000 the previous year.

Last month, the Stock Exchange of Thailand unveiled its plan to launch a digital asset exchange.